USDA, California Experiment with New Info Sharing

April 10, 2000

USDA’s Farm Service Agency is working with the Kings County agricultural commissioner, the California State Departments of Food and Agriculture, Pesticide Regulation and Water Resources on a method of information sharing designed to ease the reporting burden on farmers. Officials hope the venture will be successful enough to justify using it nationally.

"In the past, farmers gave information about their land use and crop production to all of the agencies independently. By entering into partnerships, we can reduce costs and greatly improve our service to the county’s agricultural producers," said Val Dolcini, California state FSA executive director.

"This is an important opportunity to utilize state of the art technology to enhance customer service," said California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary William J. Lyons Jr. "This will allow federal and state farm policy stakeholders to coordinate their efforts to ease the reporting burden felt by farmers and ranchers."

Common information will be accessed and shared by the agencies on an as-needed basis, and information required by only one will be protected. Customers will be able to access their files for review and use in participating in programs offered by the agencies.