Your Data, Your Rights, Your Decision
USDA will not collect producer data through this rule. The burden of data privacy rests with farmers, verifiers, and supply-chain entities. Understand what you are asked to share, why, and what happens to it.
USDA's position is clear: the agency will not collect producer data through this rule. Farmers maintain their own records and make them available for independent verification. USDA does not function as a federal certification or supervision system for every vendor, platform, or data request.
You control your records
You keep the source records behind every FD-CIC input. You decide who sees them, for what purpose, and for how long.
Classify every request
A buyer or platform may need data for calculation, verification, logistics, or payment. But they should tell you why each field is needed and what happens to it.
More data is not neutral
Additional data can be used to train models, create attributes, support other claims, or be sold. Ask whether you can refuse, export, correct, or delete it.
Data Request Classification
Every data request on a provider profile is classified using the framework below. This classification appears on each relevant rating and profile page.
What We Document for Each Data Category
Five Questions Before You Share Data
Is it required by the rule, the calculator, verification, the buyer, or the platform?
Is access limited to the verifier, or shared with partners, affiliates, or model trainers?
Is there a retention period and a deletion process, or does it persist indefinitely?
Can you fix errors and download everything if you leave the program?
May it train models, generate attributes, support other products, or be sold to third parties?
FDCIC.com tracks what data each provider requests, whether it is required, the stated purpose, retention, sharing, model-training rights, attribute rights, and deletion or portability options. This information appears on provider profiles as research is completed.