FarmLINK.net Privacy Policy
Last updated October 2016
FarmStart owns, operates and maintains the Farmlink.net website at www.farmlink.net (“Website“). FarmStart is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personally identifiable information that we may gather about you through your visits to farmlink.net (“the Website”). This Privacy Policy describes what information we collect about you (“You” or the “User“) on the Website, and how we handle that information (eg. the collection, use, retention and disclosure). These Terms of Service comprise a legal agreement between FarmStart and you, the person accessing and using this website ). By accessing the Website, you are deemed to have read Terms of Service and you agree to be bound by the Terms of Service which shall govern your access and use of the Website and all applicable laws and regulations
We may share non-personal, aggregated data collected from the Website with our funders or with researchers. This data will not contain any information that would identify you personally.
This Privacy Policy applies only to Farmlink.net and not to the websites of any third parties to which we may link or that may link to us. You should review the privacy policies of any third party websites, as they will be different from this one.
Browsing at Farmlink.net
Visitors may browse the Website without revealing any personally identifiable information such as your name, address, phone number, or e-mail address. For some services, you will be asked for additional information, all of which is optional. Otherwise, your visit to our website is anonymous.
However, we may collect certain information from your computer, such as your computer’s IP address, through the use of cookies as discussed below.
Collection of Personal Information
We collect personal information in order to provide match-making services, relevant farm, business and succession resources as well as other related services to our Users, to administer User accounts, to establish and manage User relationships and other commercial relationships, and to comply with regulatory requirements. As well, we collect personal information to provide our Users with newsletters and to hold seminars concerning relevant information, resources and practices.
When you open a client file with us, register to recieve content or attend an event, communicate with us, send us an email, or post on our blog, you are giving us information that we collect.
That information may include personal information such as your IP address, name, physical address, email address, phone number, and other details including demographic information. By giving us this information, you consent to your information being collected, used, disclosed, and stored by us, only as described in this Privacy Policy.
We will collect your information from you or from third parties where we have obtained the requisite consent to do so (for example, upon a Users instructions) or as otherwise permitted by law. From time to time you may provide us with the personal information of individuals other than yourself. You agree to obtain, prior to disclosing such information to us, the consent of such individuals to the disclosure, and subsequent use by us, of such personal information, in accordance with this Privacy Policy, unless otherwise permitted by law.
How We Use Your Information
We may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- To administer user accounts
- To detect and prevent fraud
- To evaluate user satisfaction
- To provide you with information about our services and opportunities
- To provide you with information about relevant opportunities or services in your region or provided by third partiers
- To communicate with you generally
- For security and emergency purposes
- As otherwise permitted by law.
Consent
We may obtain your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information either expressly, for stated purposes, or implicitly when the purposes are indicated by the relevant circumstances or follow logically from other stated purposes. By providing us with your personal information, and by using this website, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that information relating to providing our services, managing our relationship with you, administering our business and as permitted or required by law, in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
We will seek your consent before using personal information for any purpose beyond the scope of your original consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.
For example, if you no longer wish to receive our publications or receive information about our services, including by email, please reply to the email with the subject line “unsubscribe”, unsubscribe through the bottom of the email, or contact us in any of the ways listed below under “Questions or Concerns”.
Use of Cookies
Farmlink.net uses cookies to enhance your experience while using the Websiite. Cookies are pieces of information, such as a computer’s IP address, that some websites transfer to the computer that is browsing that website and are used for record-keeping purposes at many websites. Use of cookies makes web-surfing easier by performing certain functions such as saving your passwords, your personal preferences regarding your use of the particular website, and to make sure you don’t see the same content repeatedly. Many consider the use of cookies to be an industry standard.
Your browser is probably set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can alter the configuration of your browser to refuse them. If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of Farmlink.net will not function properly when you view them. To learn about clearing cookies from your computer, please check the documentation for your internet browser.
We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (Google), which uses cookies and tracking code to help analyze how visitors use the Site. The information collected, (including what browser and operating system you are using, your IP address, the pages on the Website that you visit, your number of pageviews, and the time you spend on the Site,) is transmitted to and stored by Google. Google uses this information for the purpose of evaluating visitors’ use of the Site in an aggregate manner, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and Internet usage. Google may transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or to third parties that process information on Google’s behalf. For more information, please read Google’s privacy policy.
Aggregate Data
FarmStart gathers, or aggregates, certain usage information about our website, such as the number and frequency of visitors to the Website, length of stay, and other anonymous data. This data helps us determine usage levels on different parts of Farmlink.net, and to conduct other internal research. We may disclose this kind of information in an aggregate form only, without any personally identifiable information, to sponsors, supporters, and other third parties. As stated above, for these uses, we do not disclose any information that could be used to identify you personally.
Registration
There are certain pages on the Website, such as profile or listing creation, newsletter subscription, forum or donation or contact pages, where we may request some personally identifiable information about you such as your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, or credit card number. FarmStart may seek such information in order to register you as a user of Farmlink.net, upgrade your matchmaking services, or to enable you to make a donation, purchase merchandise, or use certain parts of the Website. We save the information that you provide on these pages so that you are not required to submit the same information every time you use a particular feature. We use third party vendors to handle all our online financial transactions, as discussed in more detail in the section entitled “Financial Information.”
In addition, we may use such information to analyze site usage, to improve our content, to better understand our member and supporter base, or to customize the Website’s content, layout, and services. Finally, we may use your email address to send you updates about recent events and developments relating to FarmStart or Farmlink.net, newsletters, or receipts for your purchases.
Financial Information
We work with vendors to handle all our online financial transactions, including online transactions and sales. Credit card and bank detail information that you provide is not retained on our web servers. We work only with vendors who ensure that all financial transmissions over the internet to and from their sites use SSL. None of these vendors will use your personally identifiable information for any purpose other than as authorized by you at the Site or their sites.
Accuracy of Your Information
We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that your personal information is kept as accurate, complete and up-to-date as possible. We will not routinely update your Personal Information, unless such a process is necessary. In order to help us maintain and ensure that your Personal Information is accurate and up to date, you must inform us, without delay, of any change in the information you provided to us.
Surveys and Questionnaires
If you respond to one of our invitations to take a questionnaire or survey the data collected by the questionnaire or survey will only be used for the purpose stated on the form, and for no other purpose. You may also be given the opportunity to add your address details to our databases so we can contact you in the future.
Online Comments and Inquiries
We may invite you to submit comments and feedback online through different forms on the Website. By submitting such information, you hereby grant permission to FarmStart to use these comments on the Website or in other Farmlink.net or FarmStart materials. We may, for example, provide compilations of your comments to national leaders and other individuals participating in our efforts or make comments to the press and public online. No personally identifiable information about you will be disclosed when comments are submitted anonymously. When you opt to provide personally identifiable information along with your comment or question, none of your personally identifiable information will be included with comments without your express consent.
Sharing Information
We do not sell, rent, or lend any information about our users to other organizations.
Other Uses
We may employ outside companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf, such as website hosting, data analysis, and providing customer service. These companies and individuals will only have access to personally identifiable information needed to perform their functions, and may not use it for any other purpose.
Access to Your Information
You may request a copy of any personally identifiable information that FarmStart has about you. Please contact our Web Manager using this form or write to the Farmlink.net Site Manager, P.O. Box 1875, Guelph, Ontario N1H 7A1. FarmStart does not charge for supplying this information. It will help us to locate your records more easily if you can tell us something about the nature of your contact with FarmStart.
Social Media Features
Our website may include social media features, such as LinkedIn, the Facebook Like button and widgets, such as the “Share This” button or interactive mini-programs on our site. These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our site. Your interactions with such a feature are governed by the privacy policy of the organization providing it.
Limits of Security on the Internet
We employ different security techniques to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access by users inside and outside of Farmlink.net, including standard encryption practices. You should be aware, however, that “perfect security” does not exist anywhere on the Internet.
ALTHOUGH WE BELIEVE WE TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO SAFEGUARD AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES OF INFORMATION, WE CANNOT ASSURE YOU THAT YOUR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION OR YOUR EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS WITH FARMSTART AND FARMLINK.NET WILL NEVER BE DISCLOSED IN A MANNER INCONSISTENT WITH THIS POLICY, AND WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE SUFFICIENCY OF OUR SECURITY MEASURES.
Always be careful and responsible regarding your personally identifiable information. We are not responsible for, and cannot control, the use by others of any information that you provide or divulge to others, purposefully or inadvertently, including your email address and password to use certain features of the Website.
Changes to the Policy
We may revise or update these Terms and Conditions from time to time by posting such revisions on our website. Changes to the policy shall not apply retroactively.
Security of Your Personal Information
We have policies and procedures in place to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. In addition, we have implemented technological safeguards including security software, passwords and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy’s terms and conditions, FarmStart practices, or concerns about anything on the Site, please report it by email info@farmlink.net. Alternatively, you can mail P.O. Box 1875, Guelph, Ontario N1H 7A1