During a trip to Michigan, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue introduced a website that will eventually allow producers to file crop support and land stewardship forms digitally instead of having to bring paper copies to their local USDA office. The interactive Farmers.gov site reflects Perdue’s reorganization of the USDA, which put crop subsidy, crop insurance, and conservation programs into the same operational arm, called Farm Production and Conservation.
Many farmers use satellite and GPS technology to guide field equipment and gather data on crops, “yet when they need to interact with USDA, they have to stop, fill out a paper form, and fax or carry it to their local office,” said Perdue in a statement. “That is a real digital divide. … These tools will help get the paperwork done without taking a big chunk out of the day to fill out forms.”
Perdue said that during visits to 32 states, he had “consistently heard people express a desire for greater use of technology in the way we deliver programs at USDA.” At the moment, the website, using information input by the farmer, can identify the nearest USDA office and the agencies with staff at that office, along with related state and regional offices.
“New functions will be added shortly, including an interactive calendar, farming success stories, an online appointment feature, digital forms, and a business data dashboard,” said the USDA. “Additionally, when the 2018 Farm Bill is signed into law, there will be plain-language program descriptions and a tool to determine eligibility.”