Farming In the Cloud: The Federal Plan to Streamline Agriculture Data

The USDA announced the Data Modernization Plan to put Farmers First. It aims to reduce unnecessary burdens on producers, and improve the timeliness, accuracy, and usefulness of the agricultural data that informs decision making. Dr. Scott Hutchins, the Under Secretary of Research, Education, and Economics at the USDA, explains farmers won’t need to send in paper surveys, but instead can use electronic surveys and text messages. He also notes that farmers won’t need to submit duplicate information. Hutchins says the USDA will also be increasing their use of satellite data. They will couple data they gathered with artificial intelligence to better their analytics.