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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 3409
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE HOVIS.
6076H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 261, RSMo, by adding thereto eleven new sections relating to agricultural
data ownership and market competition, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 261, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto eleven new sections, to
2 be known as sections 261.150, 261.152, 261.154, 261.156, 261.158, 261.160, 261.162,
3 261.164, 261.166, 261.168, and 261.170, to read as follows:
261.150. Sections 261.150 to 261.170 shall be known and may be cited as the
2 "Missouri Agricultural Data Ownership and Market Competition Act".
261.152. As used in sections 261.150 to 261.170, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Agricultural data", any information in any format that is generated fr om,
3 derived fr om, or r elates to agricultural pr oduction operations, agricultural equipment
4 operations, or agricultural land including, but not limited to:
5 (a) Y ield data, soil data, crop data, and field data;
6 (b) Pr ecision agricultur e data including GPS coordinates, application rates, and
7 pr escription maps;
8 (c) Equipment operational data, diagnostic data, telematics data, and machine
9 performance data;
10 (d) Livestock data including health records, pr oduction metrics, br eeding data,
11 and performance analytics;
12 (e) W eather data, envir onmental data, and climate data specific to agricultural
13 operations not otherwise publicly available;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
14 (f) Input data including seed, fertilizer , pesticide, herbicide, Diesel Emission
15 Fluid (DEF), and fuel usage data;
16 (g) Financial data specific to agricultural pr oduction operations; and
17 (h) Agr onomic analyses, pr edictive models, and benchmarking r eports derived
18 fr om the for egoing data;
19 (2) "Agricultural equipment", any equipment used in agricultural prod uction
20 operations that generates, collects, transmits, stores, or pr ocesses agricultural data;
21 (3) "Agricultural pro ducer", a person or entity engaged in agricultural
22 pr oduction operations as a landowner , tenant farmer , contract grower , livestock owner ,
23 or other agricultural operator;
24 (4) "Agricultural prod uction operations", any activity conducted for the
25 purpose of pro ducing agricultural commodities including crop prod uction, livestock
26 pr oduction, aquaculture, horticulture, viticultur e, and similar activities;
27 (5) "County data market shar e", the perce ntage of total agricultural data
28 collected fro m agricultural pro ducers within a single county of Missouri by a data
29 collector or its affiliates;
30 (6) "Data aggr egator", a person or entity that collects, compiles, or pr ocesses
31 agricultural data fro m multiple agricultural pr oducers for the purpose of analysis, sale,
32 licensing, or other commer cial use;
33 (7) "Data collector", a person or entity that collects, receives, accesses,
34 transmits, stor es, or pr ocesses agricultural data, including original equipment
3 5 manufactur ers, platform pr oviders, service pr oviders, and data aggreg ators;
36 (8) "Data owner", a person or entity who holds ownership rights in agricultural
37 data as determined under section 261.154;
38 (9) "Data transaction", any sale, license, transfer , or other commer cial exchange
39 of agricultural data or rights ther ein;
40 (10) "Department", the department of agricultur e;
41 (1 1) "Fair and reas onable terms", terms and conditions for data transactions
42 that:
43 (a) Are transparent and clearly disclosed;
44 (b) Do not impose costs that unrea sonably exceed the actual costs of pr oviding
45 the data or services;
46 (c) Do not include terms that are discriminatory , pr edatory , or that
4 7 unr easonably res trict the data owner's rights; and
48 (d) Pr ovide the data owner with adequate compensation r eflecting the value of
49 the data;
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50 (12) "Independent data service provi der", a person or entity that pr ovides
51 agricultural data services including data analysis, storage, management, or
5 2 monetization services that are not pr ovided by an original equipment manufactur er
53 or an affiliate of an original equipment manufactur er;
54 (13) "Landowner", a person or entity that holds a fee simple, life estate, or other
55 possessory inter est in agricultural land;
56 (14) "Livestock owner", a person or entity that holds ownership rights in
57 livestock;
58 (15) "Original equipment manufactur er", a person or entity that manufactur es
59 agricultural equipment or licenses for the use of its brand name for agricultural
60 equipment manufactur ed by others;
61 (16) "Platform pro vider", a person or entity that operates a digital platform,
62 application, or service thr ough which agricultural data is collected, stor ed, transmitted,
63 pr ocessed, or made available;
64 (17) "T ransformed data", agricultural data that has been pro cessed, analyzed,
65 aggr egated, or otherwise transformed thr ough the application of pr oprietary
6 6 algorithms, analytical methods, or cr eative proc esses to pr oduce copyrightable works
67 including agr onomic analyses, pr edictive models, field prescrip tions, comparative
68 benchmarking repor ts, or validated farming practices.
261.154. 1. Unless otherwise pr ovided by written agreement between the
2 parties:
3 (1) Agricultural data generated fr om cr op pr oduction operations belongs to the
4 landowner of the agricultural land on which the data was generated, whether the
5 landowner farms the land dire ctly or leases it to tenant farmers;
6 (2) Agricultural data generated from livestock operations belongs to the
7 livestock owner , reg ardless of wher e the livestock is housed or who manages the
8 livestock;
9 (3) Data generated by agricultural equipment during agricultural prod uction
10 operations belongs to the owner or lessee of the equipment at the time the data was
11 generated; and
12 (4) When agricultural data is transformed into copyrightable works thr ough the
13 application of pr oprietary algorithms, analytical methods, or cre ative pr ocesses, the
14 data owner who prov ided the underlying raw data ret ains an ownership interes t in the
15 transformed data propo rtional to the contribution of their raw data to the
1 6 transformation.
17 2. No brow sewrap agreement, clickwrap agr eement, terms of service, end-user
18 license agr eement, or similar instrument shall be effective to transfer or waive a data
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19 owner's rights under sections 261.150 to 261.170 unless the data owner has pr ovided
20 expr ess, informed, written consent specifically acknowledging the transfer or waiver of
21 such rights.
22 3. Nothing in this section shall pr event parties fr om negotiating alternative data
23 ownership arrangements thr ough written contract. Agricultural prod ucers may
24 negotiate data ownership and reven ue-sharing arrangements based on their specific
25 cir cumstances including, but not limited to, tenant farming arrangements,
2 6 shar ecro pping arrangements, contract gr owing operations, custom farming
2 7 operations, and equipment leasing arrangements.
261.156. 1. A data collector that collects, r eceives, or accesses agricultural data
2 fr om an agricultural pr oducer shall:
3 (1) Pr ovide clear , conspicuous, and complete disclosure of:
4 (a) The types of agricultural data being collected;
5 (b) The purposes for which the data will be used;
6 (c) The third parties with whom the data has been or may be shar ed, sold, or
7 licensed;
8 (d) The data owner's rights under sections 261.150 to 261.170; and
9 (e) The estimated commer cial value of the data being collected, if known or
10 r easonably ascertainable;
11 (2) Obtain expr ess, informed consent fro m the data owner prior to collecting,
12 using, or sharing the data including, but not limited to, data collected for the past five
13 years;
14 (3) Pr ovide the data owner with a copy of all data collected in a standardized,
15 portable, machine-read able format upon r equest for the past five years fr om the date
16 r equested;
17 (4) Fully delete the data owner's data upon written requ est, except to the extent
18 r etention is requi red under federal or state law; and
19 (5) Pr ovide a written, legally binding certification of the deletion upon requ est.
20 2. A data collector shall offer agricultural prod ucers access to their own data on
21 fair and rea sonable terms, which shall not:
22 (1) Impose fees that unr easonably exceed the actual costs of pr oviding the data;
23 (2) Condition access to equipment, services, or functionality on the prod ucer's
24 consent to data collection or sharing beyond what is necessary for the r equested service;
25 (3) Impose discriminatory terms based on the prod ucer's data sharing decisions;
26 or
27 (4) Restrict the pr oducer's ability to shar e their data with independent data
28 service pr oviders of their choosing either directly or indir ectly .
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29 3. A data collector shall pr ovide agricultural pr oducers with the ability to export
30 their data in standardized, inter operable formats that allow the data to be used with
31 systems and services prov ided by independent data service pr oviders.
261.158. 1. For purposes of this section:
2 (1) Affiliates of a data collector shall include any entity that dir ectly or indirect ly
3 contr ols, is controlled by , or is under common contr ol with the data collector;
4 (2) Agricultural pr oduction acr eage shall be determined using data fr om the
5 United States Department of Agricultur e Census of Agricultur e, or similar authoritative
6 sour ce;
7 (3) Agricultural prod uction of livestock shall be determined by the herd count
8 divided by the annual number of animals harvested for each species.
9 2. No data collector , together with its affiliates, shall collect agricultural data
10 fr om agricultural pr oducers r epresent ing mor e than twenty-five percen t of the total
11 agricultural prod uction acrea ge within any single county of Missouri and based upon
12 the number of animals harvested annually .
13 3. A data collector that collects agricultural data fr om prod ucers in Missouri
14 shall:
15 (1) Report annually to the department the total agricultural acr eage and
16 harvested animals rep res ented by the pr oducers fr om whom it collects data in each
17 county; and
18 (2) Maintain recor ds sufficient to verify compliance with this section for a period
19 of not less than five years.
20 4. The agricultural market data concentration limits set forth in this section
21 shall not apply to data collection conducted by:
22 (1) A governmental entity for regu latory , r esear ch, or statistical purposes;
23 (2) A land-grant university or agricultural res earch institution for bona fide
24 r esear ch purposes; or
25 (3) An agricultural cooperative owned and control led by agricultural pro ducers,
26 pr ovided that the data is used solely for the benefit of the cooperative's members and
27 not res old.
28 5. A data collector that violates the provi sions of this section shall:
29 (1) Wi thin ninety days of becoming awar e of or being notified of the violation by
30 the department or attorney general, divest data-collection activities within that county
31 and delete the excess data that would be sufficient to bring the data collector into
32 compliance; or
33 (2) Be subject to the pr ovisions of section 261.164.
34 6. The pr ovisions of this section shall become effective on July 1, 2027.
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261.160. 1. An agricultural prod ucer shall have the right to monetize their
2 agricultural data by selling, licensing, or otherwise commer cializing such data, either
3 dir ectly or thr ough an independent data service pro vider or data aggr egator of their
4 choosing.
5 2. A data collector shall not:
6 (1) Pr event, r estrict, or impede an agricultural prod ucer fr om monetizing their
7 data thr ough third parties;
8 (2) Impose contractual pro visions that grant the data collector exclusive rights to
9 the pro ducer's data; or
10 (3) Discriminate against a pro ducer in terms, pricing, or service based on the
11 pr oducer's exer cise of data monetization rights.
12 3. When agricultural data is sold, licensed, or otherwise commer cialized by a
13 data collector or data aggr egator:
14 (1) The data owner shall be entitled to rece ive fair compensation for the use of
15 their data, which shall be disclosed prior to the data transaction;
16 (2) The data collector or aggr egator shall pro vide the data owner with a
17 transpar ent accounting of all data transactions involving the owner's data upon r equest;
18 and
19 (3) Revenue-sharing arrangements shall be established thr ough a written
20 agr eement between the parties which shall specify the per centage or amount of reven ue
21 to be paid to the data owner .
22 4. An agricultural pr oducer who develops innovative farming methodologies,
23 systems, or practices that demonstrably impr ove agricultural outcomes shall have the
24 right to:
25 (1) T ransform such methodologies into copyrightable intellectual pr operty
26 thr ough documentation and validation using operational data;
27 (2) License or sell such validated farming practices to other agricultural
28 pr oducers or entities; and
29 (3) Receive royal ties or other compensation for the use of such validated farming
30 practices.
261.162. 1. Data transactions involving agricultural data that occur within
2 Missouri or involve Missouri agricultural pr oducers shall be subject to state sales tax as
3 pr ovided in chapter 144.
4 2. A data collector or data aggr egator that facilitates data transactions involving
5 agricultural data shall:
6 (1) Calculate and collect applicable sales taxes on data transactions;
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7 (2) Remit collected taxes to the Missouri department of rev enue under
8 applicable law; and
9 (3) Pro vide data owners with documentation of taxes collected on data
10 transactions involving their data.
11 3. The following data transactions shall be exempt fr om sales tax under this
12 section:
13 (1) Data transactions conducted for bona fide r esear ch purposes by land-grant
14 universities or agricultural res earch institutions;
15 (2) Data transactions conducted by governmental entities for regu latory or
16 statistical purposes; and
17 (3) Data transactions within agricultural cooperatives that ar e solely for the
18 benefit of cooperative members.
19 4. All moneys collected under this section shall be deposited to the credi t of the
20 general reven ue fund and shall be appr opriated as provi ded by law .
21 5. The department in consultation with the department of r evenue shall
22 pr omulgate rules necessary to implement the pro visions of this section including, but not
23 limited to, rules rela ting to the following:
24 (1) V aluation methods for agricultural data transactions;
25 (2) Reporting req uirements for data collectors and aggr egators; and
26 (3) Pr ocedur es for tax collection and rem ittance.
27 6. The pr ovisions of this section shall become effective on July 1, 2027.
261.164. 1. A violation of any prov isions or requ irem ent of sections 261.150 to
2 261.170 shall be deemed a violation of section 407.020, and any person violating such
3 pr ovisions or r equir ement shall be subject to all penalties, rem edies, and proced ures
4 pr ovided in sections 407.010 to 407.145. The attorney general shall have all powers,
5 rights, and duties regard ing violations of sections 261.150 to 261.170 as ar e pr ovided in
6 sections 407.010 to 407.145.
7 2. A data collector who violates the pr ovisions of sections 261.150 to 261.170
8 shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed fifty thousand dollars per
9 violation. Each day of continuing violation shall constitute a separate offense. The
10 r emedies under this subsection shall not be deemed exclusive and shall be in addition to
11 any other rem edies permitted by law .
12 3. An agricultural prod ucer who is aggrieved by a violation or violations under
13 sections 261.150 to 261.170 may seek injunctive r elief or bring a civil action in any court
14 of competent jurisdiction for damages sustained as a consequence of the violation or
15 violations, together with the actual costs of the action, including reas onable attorney's
16 fees. A court may award the following to the prev ailing party:
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17 (1) Actual damages or statutory damages of up to ten thousand dollars per
18 violation, whichever is gr eater; and
19 (2) Reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
261.166. 1. Sections 261.150 to 261.170 shall not be construed to:
2 (1) Pr eempt or conflict with applicable federal laws including, but not limited to,
3 the federal Copyright Act of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-553, 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq., as
4 amended, federal patent law 35 U.S.C. Section 100 et seq., as amended, or trade secr et
5 law 18 U.S.C. Section 1831 et seq., as amended;
6 (2) Require a data collector to divulge any trade secr et defined under section
7 417.453 to any data owner or independent data service pr ovider; or
8 (3) Be superseded by any private memorandum of understanding or similar
9 agr eement between equipment manufactur ers and agricultural associations unless such
10 memorandum provi des pr otections at least as pr otective of agricultural pr oducers as
11 those provi ded under sections 261.150 to 261.170.
261.168. The department shall have the authority to:
2 (1) Receive and investigate complaints relat ing to violations under sections
3 261.150 to 261.170; and
4 (2) Refer complaints to the attorney general's office for appr opriate follow-up
5 action.
6 2. The department shall publish an annual repo rt or repo rts by December
7 thirtieth of each year on agricultural data market concentration including, but not
8 limited to, moneys collected, complaints recei ved, complaints ref erred to the attorney
9 general, civil actions filed, and other matters that ar e germane to the overall
10 effectiveness of complying with sections 261.150 to 261.170.
11 3. The department shall promul gate all necessary rules and r egulations for the
12 administration of this section including, but not limited to, the complaint pr ocess, forms
13 and relat ed r equir ements. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in
14 section 536.010, that is crea ted under the authority delegated in this section shall
15 become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provi sions of chapter
16 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable
17 and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to
18 r eview , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul a rule are subsequently
19 held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule pr oposed or
20 adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
261.170. 1. Except as provi ded in sections 261.158 and 261.162, sections 261.150
2 to 261.170 shall become effective January 1, 2027.
3 2. Under section 23.253 of the Missouri sunset act:
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4 (1) The prov isions of the new pr ogram authorized under sections 261.150 to
5 261.170 shall sunset six years after the effective date of sections 261.150 to 261.170
6 unless rea uthorized by an act of the general assembly; and
7 (2) Sections 261.150 to 261.170 shall terminate on September first of the
8 calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the prog ram authorized
9 under sections 261.150 to 261.170 is sunset.
10 3. Prior to the termination of the prov isions of sections 261.150 to 261.170, the
11 department shall conduct a compreh ensive review of the effectiveness of the Missouri
12 agricultural data ownership and market competition act and submit a rep ort to the
13 general assembly with re commendations r egarding the continuation, modification, or
14 r epeal of sections 261.150 to 261.170.
✔
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