smash that delete button

What are you doing with my information?

Agronomy and the Law: Are you prepared to answer that question from a farming client?

With the increasing development and usage of precision agriculture and technological advances in the agriculture industry, farmers are experiencing huge increases in productivity, efficiency and profitability. These innovations include the industry’s development of software applications to manage farm data, sensors on implements, drones, precision machinery and GPS technology, to name a few. With this rise […] Read more


Janos Botschner, a researcher with the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, speaks at CropConnect in Winnipeg on Feb. 12.

Farming community needs to talk more about cybersecurity

The technology now brought to bear in farming makes farms more vulnerable to digital threats

Glacier FarmMedia — Talking about cybersecurity not only raises awareness in the farming community — it can help reduce the stigma suffered by those victimized by cyberattacks. That was the message from Janos Botschner, a behavioural scientist and researcher with the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance. Botschner spoke at the CropConnect Conference in Winnipeg on Feb. […] Read more

Editor’s Rant: Get lost, grandkid

Editor’s Rant: Get lost, grandkid

If we don’t talk openly about scams we’re condemned to have them repeated on us

It’s not like I marked the exact date or time on the calendar, but otherwise I still clearly recall the day I officially got old. It wasn’t while having to catch my breath after taking the stairs. It wasn’t from the first time my feet got sore standing in line, being asked if I wanted […] Read more


A majority of ag-based companies in a recent survey reported experiencing at least one attempt at a ransomware attack.

How to prepare for and deal with a loss of farm data

Gathering the farm team together can help develop a backup plan

Many of today’s farming operations rely on data more than most other small businesses. But what happens if a farm’s data is suddenly lost or compromised? How would that affect operations? Losing field data maps and other files, not to mention business and employee records, could become a big problem. In today’s global environment there […] Read more

kubota tractor cab

Could ‘right to repair’ become a cybersecurity problem?

Brands should get proactive about allowing controlled CPU access, a security expert says

Agco announced in May 2022 it had been the victim of a ransomware cyberattack, which disrupted production at assembly plants. In May of this year, Germany’s Lemken announced it too had been attacked by hackers, As OEM brands work to further secure digital systems to protect themselves from these problems, they must balance security concerns […] Read more



Photo: PUGUN SJ

Some farm dealerships back online after cyber attack

Dealers forced to turn to pen and paper after attack knocked out inventory software

Brian Osterndorff, chair of the board of the Canadian Equipment Dealers Association, and president and CEO of Robert’s Farm Equipment, a seven-store group in Ontario, said on June 26 that they had just been informed that they could use the system again.


(Hanieriani/iStock/Getty Images)

Cyber attack frustrates farm equipment dealers

Dealers forced to use manual processes after software provider hacked

CDK provides business management software to dealers of all makes of farm equipment, so major dealers of John Deere, CNH and are working without digital systems across the country. CDK is also the leading provider of management software to automobile dealers and thousands of those dealerships are offline.

Mailed cheques are now being intercepted by fraudsters and duplicated but made out to new payees.

Fraudsters bringing bigger phish to farms

An ATB rep suggests the time has come for you to stop writing physical cheques

Glacier FarmMedia — The time has come for you to step up your cybersecurity against rising levels of financial fraud that have cost some producers tens of thousands of dollars. “It’s unbelievable the amount of cases that have come through our organization in the last year and a half,” says Jonathan Neutens, head of agriculture […] Read more