FarmPEP Platform Terms and Conditions including Data Protection Policy

Summary

Last updated February 2022

The Farm Performance Enhancment Platform (FarmPEP) is a communities of stakeholders (both individuals and organisations) jointly striving to enhance on-farm performance through knowledge sharing and ‘action research’, using approaches outlined on the FarmPEP project page. FarmPEP is led by ADAS but is a collaborative endeavour with multiple partners.  The express purpose of FarmPEP is to share and develop ideas, experiences, data and knowledge. Anyone can register to and access the FarmPEP.net website to access content, comment on content and, ultimately, access tools they have signed up to.  Together we refer to this as ‘The Platform’.

Farmpep.net has the ambition of enabling knowledge exchange for all in the agricultural community. Users are able to post information on whatever they deem useful and link to Topics. Farmpep.net will employ ‘Stewards’ to summarise the current state of knowledge on Topics and to recommend trusted content. Farmpep.net is open to any individual user for free, but Organisations will ultimately have to pay to be connected (though not in the first six monts). The express intention of farmpep.net is to serve the agriculture community with relevant trustworthy information. All content published on farmpep.net remains the responsibility of the user who posted it, and ADAS accepts no liability for the content of users. ADAS reserves the right to block and remove users and content that it deems are not acting in the best interest of farmpep and the agricultural knowledge exchange community.

All personal data is protected, is GDPR compliant and will not be disclosed to anyone without consent.

  1. Agreement to terms

These terms and conditions constitute a legally binding agreement made between you, whether personally or on behalf of an entity (“you”) and the Platform, concerning your access to and use of the Platform as well as any other media form, media channel, mobile website or mobile application related, linked, or otherwise connected thereto (collectively, the “Platform”).

You agree that by accessing the Platform, you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and Appendix 1. If you do not agree with all of these terms and conditions, then you are expressly prohibited from using the Platform and you must discontinue using it immediately.

Supplemental terms and conditions or documents that may be posted on the Platform from time to time are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes or modifications to these terms and conditions at any time and for any reason.

We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last updated” date of these terms and conditions, and you waive any right to receive specific notice of each such change.

It is your responsibility to periodically review these terms and conditions to stay informed of updates. You will be subject to and will be deemed to have been made aware of and to have accepted, the changes in any revised terms and conditions by your continued use of the Platform after the date such revised terms and conditions are posted.

The information provided on the Platform is not intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country.

Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the Platform from other locations do so on their own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

The Platform is intended for users who are at least 18 years old. Persons under the age of 18 are not permitted to register for the Platform.

 

  1. User representations

By using the Platform, you represent and warrant that:  

  1. all registration information you submit will be true, accurate, current, and complete;
  2. you will maintain the accuracy of such information and promptly update such registration information as necessary;
  3. you have the legal capacity and you agree to comply with these terms and conditions;
  4. you are not under the age of 18;
  5. you will not access the Platform through automated or non-human means, whether through a bot, script, or otherwise;
  6. you will not use the Platform for any illegal or unauthorized purpose;
  7. your use of the Platform will not violate any applicable law or regulation;
  8. in posting content publicly you agree to abide by the ethos of the platform, being truthful and constructive, being respectful to all other users and being transparent about any commercial interests;
  9. nothing you post will be offensive, racist, slanderous, abusive, indecent, pornographic, illegal, libellous or knowingly untrue or incomplete;
  10. you will not post personal information about other people;
  11. you will not link to websites that contain inappropriate material;
  12. you will not use the Platform to spam, or to create the same content multiple times or in multiple places;
  13. you will use your real name when using the platform and not write anything that you wouldn’t say in a physical meeting or conversation; 
  14. You will only be registered on the platform as a single user, you will not adopt multiple identities;
  15. you will be prepared to be challenged, and will be prepared to challenge others;
  16. you will not attempt to re-register if suspended from the Platform;
  17. you will have a valid email address associated to your account at all times;
  18. you commit to being fully transparent about any content promoting any products or services in which you or your organisation has any commercial interest, or will gain or have gained financially or in kind. This includes commenting on products or services that you have received for free or for reduced rates. You agree to abide by the laws and guidance of the Advertising Standards Authority;
  19. If you see any content on the Platform that you believe contravenes any of the above you will use the Report button to report it to us.
  1. User registration

In order to use the Platform to access tools or to post content, you are required to register an account using your own real name. We will in future use your email address to connect to past data that you have provided via the YENs or other ADAS projects, so please register with the same email address you have used to enter YENs before. You agree to keep your password confidential and will be responsible for all use of your account and password.

Your email address will act as your username for account management purposes on the Platform. Your public profile will use your real name, or a derivation of it if more than one user are registered with the same name.  Your email address will not be disclosed to anyone without your permission.

We reserve the right to remove, reclaim, or change a username you provide if we determine, in our sole discretion, that such username is inappropriate, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.

Registration to the Platform is free for individuals and open to everyone. We ask you to provide information on your role (i.e., farmer, advisor, industry, researcher, etc) and your organisation(s). We invite you to link to contact information via LinkedIn, ResearchGate, The Farming Forum if you would like this to be presented on your public profile.  You can choose whether you wish to be contactable by other Platform users, via in-site messaging.

We reserve the right to charge a modest fee to Organisations for a presence on the Platform. We also reserve the right to charge fees to anyone seeking to use the Platform for commercial gain.  The Platform can be used to promote products, services & practices, but where there is any commercial gain, this must be acknowledged transparently and not be passed off as independent endorsement.  Where appropriate, commercial content will be clearly marked as such by the site.

 

    1. Data sharing

Data sharing is at the heart of the Farm-PEP approach, and ultimately we will enable data sharing via the FarmPEP platform, as currently supported by the YEN website. These Terms & Conditions will be updated when such functionality is introduced. By registering to the Platform you are agreeing that non-personal data you submit will be shared anonymously for benefit of shared learning by the community.

No personal data will be shared without your explicit consent.  Personal Data are defined as any information which are related to an identified or identifiable natural person, including email address, telephone, credit card or personnel number of a person, account data, number plate, appearance, relationships and address. 

By accepting these terms and conditions, you agree to anonymised outputs from submitted data to be used and shared in a way deemed to benefit the Platform and the community.

Your personal data will not be used for marketing purposes in any way, except for contacting you about the Platform and related activities if you have explicitly opted in.

We reserve the right to release any information held about you to a third party should a court order require us to do so.

  1. Prohibited activities

As a user of the Platform, you agree not to:

1.    make any unauthorized use of the Platform, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of users by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email, or creating user accounts by automated means or under false pretences.

2.    circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the Platform, including features that prevent or restrict the use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on the use of the Platform and/or the Content contained therein.

3.    trick, defraud, or mislead us and other users, especially in any attempt to learn sensitive account information such as user passwords.

4.    make improper use of our support services or submit false reports of abuse or misconduct.

5.    engage in any automated use of the system, such as using scripts to send comments or messages, or using any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools.

6.    interfere with, disrupt, or create an undue burden on the Platform or the networks or services connected to the Platform.

7.    use any information obtained from the Platform in order to harass, abuse, or harm another person.

8.    attempt to bypass any measures of the Platform designed to prevent or restrict access to the Platform, or any portion of the Platform.

9.    harass, annoy, intimidate, or threaten any of our employees or agents engaged in providing any portion of the Platform to you, or any other users.

10.  delete the copyright or other proprietary rights notice from any Content.

11.  upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) viruses, Trojan horses, or other material, including excessive use of capital letters and spamming (continuous posting of repetitive text), that interferes with any party’s uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the Platform or modifies, impairs, disrupts, alters, or interferes with the use, features, functions, operation, or maintenance of the Platform.

12.  upload or transmit (or attempt to upload or to transmit) any material that acts as a passive or active information collection or transmission mechanism, including without limitation, clear graphics interchange formats (“gifs”), 1×1 pixels, web bugs, cookies, or other similar devices (sometimes referred to as “spyware” or “passive collection mechanisms” or “pcms”).

13.  except as may be the result of standard search engine or Internet browser usage, use, launch, develop, or distribute any automated system, including without limitation, any spider, robot, cheat utility, scraper, or offline reader that accesses the Platform, or using or launching any unauthorized script or other software.

14.  disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Platform.

15.  use the Platform in a manner inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations.

16. use the Platform to publish any material that breaches copyright, incurs libel, defamation or slander or contravenes Advertising Standards Authority codes.  

17. use the Platform to promote commercial products or services without being transparent, marking content as commercial content, and paying any fees due to the Platform.

18.  use the platform for political purposes, lobbying or as part of a pressure campaign against specific issues, or for any use that isn’t in line with the common good of the agricultural community.

19.  spam content on the platform with multiple posts of the same or similar content in different places.

20.  post personal, private, or confidential information about yourself or anyone else.

 

  1. Posted Content

All content posted on the Platform by users will be jointly owned by the User and the Platform. No Content which is private or confidential, or may become private in the future, should be posted. The Platform is not responsible for any user-generated content or accounts. Content posted express the views of their author only and the Platform accepts no responsibility or liability for the content of its Users. All views expressed are those of individual users and do not represent the views of the Platform or ADAS.

No content on the Platform should be taken as advice provided by the Platform. We accept no liability from decisions or actions taken as a result of information on the Platform.

The Platform reserves the right to review any content posted by users, and to use third-party verification services (including, but not limited to, spam prevention services). The Platform reserves the rights to remove or modify any Content posted for any reason without explanation. Requests for Content to be removed or modified will be undertaken only at the discretion of the Platform. We reserve the right to take action against any account with the Platform at any time.
You consent that any content you post to the Platform is free of copyright at the point of submission. You are granting us with a non-exclusive, permanent, irrevocable, unlimited license to use, publish, or re-publish your Content in connection with the Platform.
 

 

  1. Third-party websites and content

The Platform may contain (or you may be sent via the Platform) links to other websites ("Third-Party Websites") as well as articles, photographs, text, graphics, pictures, designs, music, sound, video, information, applications, software, and other content or items belonging to or originating from third parties ("Third-Party Content").  Integration of external websites into the Platform will take place in one of two ways; 1) Integration of some or all provider functionality into the platform; 2) a direct link to an external website.

Third-Party Websites and Third-Party Content either partially or fully integrated onto the platform, or accessed via a direct link on the platform, are not investigated, monitored, or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by us, and we are not responsible for any Third-Party Websites accessed through the Platform or any Third-Party Content posted on, available through, or installed from the Platform, including the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability, privacy practices, or other policies of or contained in the Third-Party Websites or the Third-Party Content.

Inclusion of, linking to, or permitting the use or installation of any Third-Party Websites or any Third-Party Content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by us. If you decide to leave the Platform and access the Third-Party Websites or to use or install any Third-Party Content, you do so at your own risk, and you should be aware these terms and conditions no longer govern.

You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any website to which you navigate from the Platform or relating to any applications you use or install from the Platform. Any purchases you make through Third-Party Websites will be through other websites and from other companies, and we take no responsibility whatsoever in relation to such purchases which are exclusively between you and the applicable third party.

You agree and acknowledge that we do not endorse the products, services or views offered on Third-Party Websites and you shall hold us harmless from any harm caused by your purchase of such products or services. Additionally, you shall hold us harmless from any losses sustained by you or harm caused to you relating to or resulting in any way from any Third-Party Content or any contact with Third-Party Websites.

 

  1. Platform management

We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to: 

1.    monitor the Platform for violations of these terms and conditions;

2.    take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates the law or these terms and conditions, including without limitation, reporting such user to law enforcement authorities;

3.    in our sole discretion and without limitation, remove Users instantly and permanently if the Platform is used to spam content;

4.    in our sole discretion and without limitation, remove Users instantly and permanently if content is posted which is offensive, abusive, untrue, inaccurate, not current, incomplete or libellous;

5.    in our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to, limit the availability of, or disable (to the extent technologically feasible) any of your Contributions or any portion thereof;

6.    in our sole discretion and without limitation, notice, or liability, to remove from the Platform or otherwise disable all files and content that are excessive in size or are in any way burdensome to our systems;

7.    otherwise manage the Platform in a manner designed to protect our rights and property and to facilitate the proper functioning of the Platform.

 

Users can report content they deem to contravene these terms using the ‘Report’ button or by emailing [email protected].  We will endeavour to investigate reported content in a timely manner and take appropriate action, contacting the author and asking for appropriate changes.

 

  1. Data Protection Policy

We care about data privacy and security. Please review our Data Protection Policy (Appendix 1) which is based on the EU General Data Protection Regulation 679/2016 (GDPR).

By using the Platform, you agree to be bound by our Data Protection Policy, and to monitor this policy for updates.

If you access this Platform and/or your personal data outside of the European Union, we do not assume any liability for that action being compliant with the laws and regulation within the European Union or the laws of the country of the territory where the access takes place.

  1. Intellectual Property Rights – Notice and Policy

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any material available on or through the Platform infringes upon any copyright you own or control, please contact us immediately, summarising the details of the material in question. Following this, you will be asked to provide formal notification, providing the following information:

1.    A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;

2.    identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works on the Platform are covered by the Notification, a representative list of such works on the Platform;

3.    identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;

4.    information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an email address at which the complaining party may be contacted;

5.    a statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;

6.    a statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed upon.

  1. Terms and termination

These terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect while you use the Platform. Without limiting any other provision of these terms and conditions, we reserve the right to, in our sole discretion and without notice or liability, deny access to and use of the Platform (including blocking certain IP addresses), to any person for any reason or for no reason, including without limitation for breach of any representation, warranty, or covenant contained in these terms and conditions or of any applicable law or regulation. We may terminate your use or participation in the Platform or delete [your account and] any content or information that you posted at any time, without warning, in our sole discretion.

If we terminate or suspend your account for any reason, you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party.

In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress.

  1. Modifications and interruptions

We reserve the right to change, modify, or remove the contents of the Platform at any time or for any reason at our sole discretion without notice. However, we have no obligation to update any information on our Platform. We also reserve the right to modify or discontinue all or part of the Platform without notice at any time. Users will be notified of pre-scheduled Platform maintenance as appropriate. 

We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuance of the Platform.

We cannot guarantee the Platform will be available at all times. We may experience hardware, software, or other problems or need to perform maintenance related to the Platform, resulting in interruptions, delays, or errors.

We reserve the right to change, revise, update, suspend, discontinue, or otherwise modify the Platform at any time or for any reason without notice to you. You agree that we have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, or inconvenience caused by your inability to access or use the Platform during any downtime or discontinuance of the Platform.

Nothing in these terms and conditions will be construed to obligate us to maintain and support the Platform or to supply any corrections, updates, or releases in connection therewith.

  1. Governing law

These terms and conditions are governed by, and is to be construed in accordance with, English law.  The English Courts will have non-exclusive jurisdiction to deal with any dispute which has arisen or may arise out of, or in connection with, this agreement.

In no event will we or our directors, employees, or agents be liable to you or any third party for any direct, indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special, or punitive damages, including lost profit, lost revenue, loss of data, or other damages arising from your use of the Platform, or content of the platform, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

    1. Dispute resolution

Any legal action of whatever nature brought by either you or us (collectively, the “Parties” and individually, a “Party”) shall be commenced or prosecuted under English law. 

    1. Liability

The Platform is not liable for damages associated with any content or advice provided on the Platform or linked to the platform (Clause 5, 6 and 12) nor for any cost incurred by users associated with use of the Platform (Clauses 14 and 15). 

  1. Corrections

There may be information on the Platform that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions that may relate to the Platform, including descriptions, pricing, availability, and various other information. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update the information on the Platform at any time, without prior notice.

  1. Disclaimer

The Platform is provided on an as-is and as-available basis. You agree that your use of the Platform and associated services will be at your sole risk. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, in connection with the Platform and your use thereof, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We make no warranties or representations about the accuracy or completeness of the Platform‘s content or the content of any websites linked to the Platform and we will assume no liability or responsibility for any (1) errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies of content and materials, (2) personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from your access to and use of the Platform, (3) any unauthorized access to or use of our secure servers and/or any and all personal information and/or financial information stored therein, (4) any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Platform, (5) any bugs, viruses, trojan horses, or the like which may be transmitted to or through the Platform by any third party, and/or (6) any errors or omissions in any content and materials or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the Platform.

As with the purchase of a product or service through any medium or in any environment, you should use your best judgment and exercise caution where appropriate.

  1. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless, including our subsidiaries, affiliates, and all of our respective officers, agents, partners, and employees, from and against any loss, damage, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (1) use of the Platform; (2) breach of these terms and conditions; (3) any breach of your representations and warranties set forth in these terms and conditions; (4) your violation of the rights of a third party, including but not limited to intellectual property rights; or (5) any overt harmful act toward any other user of the Platform with whom you connected via the Platform.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, we reserve the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate, at your expense, with our defence of such claims. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of any such claim, action, or proceeding which is subject to this indemnification upon becoming aware of it. 

  1. Electronic communications, transactions and signatures

Visiting the Platform, sending us emails, and completing online forms constitute electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications, and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications we provide to you electronically, via email and on the Platform, satisfy any legal requirement that such communication be in writing.

  1. Miscellaneous

These terms and conditions and any policies or operating rules posted by us on the Platform constitute the entire agreement and understanding between you and us. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these terms and conditions shall not operate as a waiver of such right or provision.

These terms and conditions operate to the fullest extent permissible by law. We may assign any or all of our rights and obligations to others at any time. We shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage, delay, or failure to act caused by any cause beyond our reasonable control.

If any provision or part of a provision of these terms and conditions is determined to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these terms and conditions and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

There is no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship created between you and us as a result of these terms and conditions or use of the Platform. You agree that these terms and conditions will not be construed against us by virtue of having drafted them.

You hereby waive any and all defences you may have based on the electronic form of these terms and conditions and the lack of signing by the parties hereto to execute these terms and conditions.

  1. Contact us 

To receive further information regarding the use of the Platform, or in order to resolve an issue regarding the Platform, please contact:

For platform amendments or notifications, please E-mail:

[email protected]

 

For any GDPR issues, please E-mail:

Mike Mason, RSK IT Director, ([email protected]) RSK ADAS Ltd, 172 Chester Road, Helsby, Cheshire UK WA6 0AR