USDA announces new plan to modernize agricultural data

Key Takeaways

On September 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its Data Modernization Plan, which aims to improve agricultural data and increase transparency. This follows a Request for Information released earlier this year seeking feedback on agricultural data collection,  which included a series of listening sessions held across the country.
 

Read the plan here
 

What’s in the plan?

The Data Modernization Plan is organized around four pillars: modernizing the data reporting experience, enhancing acreage and yield estimation, integrating data and technology platforms and expanding trust and transparency with producers. Through these pillars, USDA plans to:

• Improve the use of administrative data from USDA agencies to prevent requests for data producers have already submitted
• Redesign mobile surveys and other interfaces to be more user-friendly and explore opportunities to use pre-filled survey data
• Review data collection practices and technology infrastructure with external experts
• Conduct a pilot to evaluate the use of emerging technologies to enhance acreage and yield estimates
• Modernize USDA's technology infrastructure, expand data-sharing capabilities, and evaluate how AI and machine learning can be integrated
• Engage with agricultural partners, such as state departments of agriculture, producer organizations and land-grant universities

County Impact

Agricultural data, including yield data and operational information, is collected and used by private companies, government agencies and other entities, including counties. In many cases, producers do not have clear control over how this data is used or shared, leading to unauthorized collection, lack of disclosure and potential misuse. This puts producers at a disadvantage, impacting economic stability in rural counties. 

For counties with significant agricultural economies, the plan could mean less duplicative paperwork for local producers, more accurate acreage and yield data feeding into disaster and farm program decisions and new digital tools for accessing USDA statistics.

Counties support policies that promote transparency in data collection and use to protect the interests of producers and local agricultural markets. Counties also support clear standards for data security and ensuring producers have access to their own data, protections that help safeguard the economic stability of rural communities that depend on a healthy agricultural sector.

NACo will continue to monitor the implementation of USDA's Data Modernization Plan and will work with federal partners to help ensure it delivers strong data protections that support our agricultural counties.