The US Department of Agriculture announced a Data Modernization Plan at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, on 1 September, saying it will reduce the reporting burden it places on producers while improving how quickly and accurately it publishes agricultural figures.

The department has been collecting agricultural information since it was founded in 1862. Those figures feed crop and livestock estimates, risk-management tools, disaster assistance and the commercial decisions of farmers, agribusinesses and researchers.

"America's farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our food and agricultural system, and USDA should respect their time while delivering the reliable information they need," said Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, describing the plan as cutting red tape and giving producers a stronger voice in how data is collected and reported.

The plan follows a Request for Information issued in February 2026 and a series of listening sessions held at state fairs and farm shows through August, which the department says reached hundreds of producers and stakeholders. It is organised around four pillars.

Kip Tom, special adviser for data modernisation, said the plan brings the department's agencies together and breaks down what he called outdated information silos. Scott Hutchins, Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics, said the quality of the statistics depends on the voluntary participation of producers, and that reducing the burden is a way of protecting it.

The department says the work builds on methods already in use — satellite crop monitoring, geospatial analysis, cloud platforms, online reporting tools and wider use of administrative records it already holds.

Implementation begins immediately. The department says it will publish its methodologies and protect the confidentiality of individual returns as new approaches are introduced.

Source: USDA