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Agriculture Innovation Act

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) manages a wealth of farmer data, from conservation practice adoption to crop yields to risk management data. Unfortunately, this data sits within different USDA mission areas — the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and the Risk Management Agency (RMA) — making it cumbersome, if not impossible, to access and analyze it.

Many farmers and ranchers rely on anecdotal information when determining the value of conservation and other production practices. To better quantify risks and rewards, and incentivize the practices that enhance water quality, increase crop yields, and improve soil health, we need to make USDA data more accessible to trusted researchers. Little has been done to collect, link, and analyze USDA’s vast data resources to understand the correlation between crop yields, profitability, and risk reduction.

Support for the Agriculture Innovation Act

A coalition of agriculture stakeholders, including land grant universities, farm organizations, corporations, researchers, and environmental and conservation organizations supports the Agriculture Innovation Act.