Operation Farm-Belt Alpha
Original Mission created by RENSIC.
Submit Your Research MissionMission Overview
For decades, the agricultural industry has operated in a black box, shielded by powerful lobbying groups and underfunded oversight agencies. When a river runs toxic or a town's groundwater is contaminated, the resulting investigations are often slow-walked, redacted, or quietly settled out of court with non-disclosure agreements. Operation Farm-Belt Alpha is our counter-offensive. We are crowdsourcing the largest environmental audit in history.
This mission requires a hybrid approach: digital forensics combined with localized, physical data gathering. We need researchers to scrape through thousands of pages of USDA crop reports, EPA violation notices, and corporate SEC filings to find the discrepancies between what these companies claim they are doing and what is actually happening on the ground. We are looking for the "ghost farms"—parcels of land used specifically for illegal chemical disposal under the guise of experimental crop testing. We are hunting for the "re-labelers"—distributors who import banned chemicals and sell them under generic, unregulated names. The data is out there, fragmented across hundreds of county-level databases and obscure federal registries. Our job is to pull it all together into a single, undeniable narrative of corporate malfeasance.
Primary Objective
The heartland of our food supply is being poisoned from the inside out, and the perpetrators are hiding behind a maze of corporate shell games and regulatory capture. Our primary objective is to systematically dismantle the facade of compliance maintained by mega-agricultural conglomerates and their chemical suppliers. We are not just looking for bad apples; we are mapping a systemic failure. We need to document the exact pathways through which banned or heavily restricted synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and toxic runoff are being illegally dumped, misreported, or re-labeled to bypass environmental protections. This means tracing the chemical supply chain from the manufacturing plant to the local distributor, and finally to the soil itself. We must correlate sudden spikes in local cancer clusters and ecological dead zones with specific corporate land acquisitions and chemical application logs. By aggregating satellite imagery, local water quality reports, and leaked internal memos, we will build a bulletproof, decentralized ledger of environmental crimes. This isn't about writing a stern letter to the EPA; it's about gathering the undeniable, hard data required to force massive class-action lawsuits and criminal prosecutions. We are turning the soil itself into our star witness.
Scope
Nationwide agricultural supply chains, focusing on chemical distributors, corporate land holdings, and local water/soil quality reports.
Goal
To test claims of environmental contamination through standardized sampling and lab analysis by creating an immutable, crowdsourced database of chemical supply chain violations, illegal dumping, and regulatory capture, providing the hard evidence needed for immediate action.
Mandatory Tools First
In order to participate in Missions, you will need specific tools to gather actionable, verifiable evidence. The following tools are required for Operation Farm-Belt Alpha:
ProofMode
A lightweight app that turns your phone into a secure evidence-gathering device by automatically adding cryptographic signatures and metadata. Essential for documenting physical samples and illegal dumping sites.
proofmode.orgPhyphox
An open-source physics application developed by RWTH Aachen University that utilizes your smartphone's sensors for data collection. Essential for monitoring heavy machinery and transport vibrations.
phyphox.orgNFC Tools
A highly trusted app (10M+ downloads) used to read and write data to NFC tags. You will use this to encode the collection metadata onto the NFC 213 stickers.
App Usage & Settings:
- ProofMode Settings: Ensure GPS location and timestamp metadata are enabled. Video set to 1080 30fps. DO NOT use 4K video.
- ProofMode Usage: Use to photograph/video physical collection sites, soil/water samples, and any visible environmental violations. Maintain an unbroken video chain of custody.
- Phyphox Settings: Use the "Acoustic Chronometer" (Threshold: 0.1 a.u., Minimum Delay: 0.1s) or "Acceleration (with g)" modules.
- Phyphox Usage: Deploy near suspected illegal dumping sites, chemical processing facilities, or during suspected unauthorized aerial spraying to record acoustic signatures of crop dusters or vibrational signatures of heavy transport/pumping equipment.
- NFC Tagging: Affix an NFC 213 sticker to the collection jar. Open the NFC Tools app and write the unique Mission ID, your Researcher ID, and the GPS coordinates to the tag.
Required Setting: Set the tag to "Read-Only" (locked) after writing to prevent tampering and preserve the chain of custody.
Physical Equipment Required:
- Collection Jars: Clean, sterile glass or high-grade plastic soil/water collection jars.
- NFC 213 Stickers: NTAG213 stickers to affix to the jars for digital chain of custody tracking.
- Ward Lab Form: Required submission form for biological/fungal analysis.
Open Source Forensic Tools
QGIS
A free and open-source geographic information system. Crucial for mapping agricultural zones, water tables, and correlating contamination with corporate land holdings.
Download QGISOpenCorporates
The largest open database of companies in the world. Essential for verifying shell companies and tracing ownership of mega-agricultural operations.
Access OpenCorporatesPython (Pandas & Scrapy)
Programming tools for data manipulation and web scraping. Perfect for automating data collection from EPA ECHO, USDA NASS, and USGS NAWQA databases.
Learn PythonMaltego
A tool for graphical link analyses. Use it to map out complex networks and relationships between agricultural boards, chemical distributors, and unaccredited labs.
Visit MaltegoFor additional operational resources, consult the Tools and Testing, Ethical Testing Guide, Verification Guide, and Smart Contracts pages.
Field Audit & OSINT Protocol
Directive FBA-99: Comprehensive Agricultural Supply Chain & Soil Integrity Audit
I. Primary Objective
The overarching goal of Operation Farm-Belt Alpha is to systematically map, document, and expose discrepancies between publicly reported agricultural safety metrics and actual ground-level realities. Field auditors and OSINT analysts are tasked with identifying unauthorized chemical applications, undisclosed soil degradation events, and regulatory capture within regional agricultural boards. We are building an irrefutable, cryptographically secured ledger of environmental and supply chain data that bypasses compromised institutional reporting. This requires a dual-pronged approach: rigorous digital forensics on existing public databases and verifiable physical sampling from targeted agricultural zones.
II. Target Indicators & Anomalies
Analysts must focus their efforts on identifying specific patterns of obfuscation and contamination. Key indicators include:
- Chemical Discrepancies: Spikes in the procurement of restricted herbicides/pesticides (e.g., Atrazine, Glyphosate variants) that do not align with reported crop yields or pest pressure reports.
- Regulatory Ghosting: Instances where state or federal EPA soil testing mandates were bypassed, delayed, or conducted by unaccredited third-party laboratories with known corporate ties.
- Supply Chain Routing: Unexplained rerouting of grain or livestock feed through secondary processing facilities known for blending contaminated batches to dilute toxicity levels below testing thresholds.
- Water Table Contamination: Correlation between agricultural runoff data and localized spikes in municipal water treatment costs or public health anomalies.
III. Implementation & Data Acquisition
To build a bulletproof evidentiary chain, researchers must utilize a combination of specific public databases and FOIA requests. Cross-referencing is mandatory.
Required Data Sources & Links:
- EPA ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online): Extract facility-level violation records and compare against local agricultural board meeting minutes.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats: Pull historical crop yield and chemical application data. Look for sudden, unexplained drops in reported chemical usage that contradict local purchasing data.
- USGS NAWQA: Analyze surface and groundwater quality data adjacent to mega-farming operations.
- Corporate Filings: Review SEC Form 10-K filings of major agricultural conglomerates for undisclosed environmental liabilities or sudden shifts in supply chain logistics.
IV. Independent Testing & Physical Evidence
Digital forensics must be corroborated by physical reality. Field researchers may conduct independent soil and water testing, provided they have the explicit, documented permission of the landowner.
Critical Collection Requirements
- Follow NIST Standards: You must collect the sample according to the official NIST guidelines. Download the guide below and follow the procedures carefully to avoid cross-contamination.
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Photo Evidence: Use ProofMode to take a photo of the collection site before, during, and after sampling. This embeds cryptographic proof of the time and location.
Required Setting: Ensure "Include Location", "Include Network Data", and "Sign with PGP" are enabled in the app settings. -
Environmental Telemetry: Run Phyphox (Location and Accelerometer) during the 5-minute collection window. This proves the sample was collected at a static location and provides micro-climate data for court-legal documentation.
Required Setting: Select "Location (GPS)" and "Acceleration without g". Set recording rate to at least 1Hz and export as CSV. -
NFC Tagging: Affix an NFC 213 sticker to the collection jar. Open the NFC Tools app and write the unique Mission ID, your Researcher ID, and the GPS coordinates to the tag.
Required Setting: Set the tag to "Read-Only" (locked) after writing to prevent tampering and preserve the chain of custody. - Chain of Custody: Standardized sample soil kits may be provided by the DFM logistics team upon verified request. Chain of custody must be maintained and documented via video from collection to the sealing of the shipping container.
V. Submission Formatting
All findings must be compiled into a single, encrypted archive containing:
1. Raw Data: Original CSVs, PDFs, or lab results.
2. Methodology Log: A reproducible, step-by-step account of how the data was acquired and cross-referenced.
3. Executive Summary: A concise brief highlighting the specific anomalies, regulatory failures, or contamination events discovered.
Mission Downloads
The following files are pre-configured specifically for Operation Farm-Belt Alpha. Citizen Researchers can use these templates to compile legally verifiable, corroborating evidence for submission to municipal authorities or courts.
Submission Requirements
Citizen Researchers are required to submit these two files (completely filled out; the .json is pre-filled with Mission-specific metadata) alongside the raw evidence Phyphox .csv file and the ProofMode video/photo files for full review, validation, and payment.
Mission Budget Breakdown
Total Funding Necessary: $85,000
Procurement of environmental reports, supply chain manifests, and corporate filings.
Payouts for verified tasks, field investigations, and whistle-blower support.
Secure data storage, mapping tools, and analysis software.
Operational and administrative support.
Mission Timeline
Mission Created
Operation Farm-Belt Alpha initialized. Initial funding round opened.
Initial Data Gathering
First wave of environmental reports and corporate filings to be collected.
Supply Chain Mapping
Trace supply chains and identify key distribution nodes.
Environmental Impact Report
Final synthesis of verifiable data packages for further analysis.
Network Activity
Mission Initialized
System
Audit Results
Interim audit report expected next quarter. Preliminary data available for institutional nodes.
How do you want to participate?
Minimum contribution: $10.00
This mission is currently in manual funding phase. All contributions are tracked publicly. Full platform automation launching Q3 2026.
NOTE: All transactions are securely processed and tracked for Escrow services.
Drag & Drop Results
PDF, ZIP, JSON (Max 50MB)