Agriculture Principles
The immutable truths. Markets shift. Technology evolves. These don't.
Land + Data = Value
The convergence creates something neither can achieve alone.
Sensors create data moats. A farm with IoT infrastructure generates continuous value streams. One without is just dirt.
Digital twins enable prediction. When physical assets have digital representations, you can model, optimize, and trade them in ways impossible with paper records.
The VVFL compounds. More sensors → more data → better models → higher yields → more sensors. This is the Validated Virtuous Feedback Loop.
Data Sovereignty Transforms Agriculture
Who owns the data determines who captures the value.
Fonterra model 1.0: Farmers cooperatively own the processor. But Fonterra owns the data.
Cooperative 2.0: Farmers own the data infrastructure itself. Token-aligned coordination extends cooperation to the data layer.
Public standards beat private silos. When weather, positioning, and provenance data are public goods, every farmer benefits — not just those who can afford premium subscriptions.
Provenance Creates Premium
In the protocol era, origin is cryptographically provable.
Verified beats claimed. Blockchain-recorded growing conditions are proof. Marketing claims are noise.
Continuous beats periodic. Annual audits are history. Real-time sensor data is strategy.
Aggregated beats individual. One farm's data is a point. A network's data is a pattern that commands premium pricing.
Weather is Infrastructure
The most important variable in farming should be a public good.
Hyper-local beats regional. NIWA gives you Canterbury averages. WeatherXM gives you your paddock.
Farmer-owned beats corporate-owned. When farmers deploy and earn from weather stations, the network serves farmers first.
Parametric insurance needs verified data. Automated payouts require trustworthy triggers. DePIN provides them.
Precision Requires Positioning
Survey-grade accuracy enables automation.
RTK positioning enables autonomy. Autonomous tractors, drone spraying, precision planting — all require centimeter accuracy.
Shared infrastructure beats individual subscriptions. GEODNET base stations serve multiple farms. The $10K/year GPS subscription becomes obsolete.
Positioning is the foundation. Without precise positioning, precision agriculture is just marketing.
The Test
Before any agricultural investment or build, answer these:
- Does this create data? Physical assets should generate digital value streams.
- Does this return data sovereignty? Farmers should own what their farms produce — including data.
- Does this enable public standards? Infrastructure that benefits one should benefit all.
- Does this reduce corporate dependency? Farmers should capture more of the value chain.
- Does this compound? Each farm added should make the network more valuable.
If you can't answer yes to at least three, reconsider the opportunity.
Context
- VVFL Thesis — The transformation framework
- Data Flow — Why high-signal data is the most valuable asset
- DePIN — Physical infrastructure for data
- Standards — Why public truth matters