White paper offers ways to leverage data to inform the farm bill, improve economic and environmental outcomes for farmers and ranchers
Washington, DC — Today, the AGree Initiative and the Data Foundation released a new white paper: Modernizing Agriculture Data Infrastructure to Improve Economic and Ecological Outcomes. The paper highlights the necessity of data innovation to address a growing number of critical short and long-term food and agricultural issues, including agricultural production, environmental sustainability, nutrition assistance, food waste, and food and farm labor. The paper concludes by offering four practical options that are effective case studies for data acquisition, management, and use in other sectors.
“We can improve the effectiveness of the farm bill and deliver better value for farmers and American taxpayers if we update the national agricultural data infrastructure now,” said Todd Barker, CEO of Meridian Institute, the institutional home of AGree. “There is an opportunity to improve how data is shared that will drive innovation in the sector. USDA is well positioned to provide leadership on this critical issue that will have important economic and environmental benefits.”
The modernization of agricultural data collection, storage, and analysis will help better equip farmers, ranchers, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with tools to adapt, innovate, and ensure a food-secure future given the increasingly dynamic conditions in which the sector operates.
“With an updated data infrastructure, farmers and ranchers will have access to more timely and useful information about their farms; researchers will be able to better understand how different farming practices impact profitability, risk, and environmental outcomes; and USDA will be able to improve programs to provide better value to society,” said Nick Hart, President of the Data Foundation.
While USDA has made strides over the years, to truly unlock the potential of data to improve farm productivity and the resilience of rural communities, the department must establish a more effective data infrastructure, which will require addressing gaps in USDA’s mandate and authorities across its agencies and programs.
The white paper explores four options that are effective case studies for data acquisition, management, and use in other sectors:
Centralized Data Infrastructure Operated by USDA
Centralized Data Infrastructure Operated by a Non-Governmental Intermediary
Data Linkage Hub Operated by a Non-USDA Agency in the Federal Government
Contractual Model with Relevant Partners
Each of the models considered offers opportunities for collaboration with farmers and other stakeholders to ensure there are clear benefits and to address shortfalls in the current system. Careful consideration of the trade-offs of each option is critical given the dynamic weather and economic challenges the agriculture sector faces and the potential new economic opportunities that may be unlocked by harnessing the power of data.
In sum, the paper provides context for using data more effectively to address conservation and climate change issues in the agricultural sector. It argues that modernizing the national data infrastructure for the agricultural sector is the linchpin to provide critical agricultural insights, improve the effectiveness of farm bill programs, and deliver better value for farmers and taxpayers. Realizing those benefits requires policy change and an orientation to using integrated data for analysis while ensuring important privacy and confidentiality protections are provided. Achieving these goals is possible.
Read the full white paper HERE.
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About The AGree Initiative
The AGree Initiative includes the AGree Economic and Environmental Risk Coalition (AGree E2 Coalition) and the AGree Climate, Food, and Ag Dialogue (CFAD). AGree focuses on developing innovative and scalable policies and pilot programs that support farmers in improving agronomic and environmental outcomes while adapting to weather variability. AGree partners believe there are real opportunities to use federal agricultural policy to incentivize and scale agricultural practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil health, and enhance water quality while reducing farmer costs and improving profitability.
About the Data Foundation
The Data Foundation is a national non-profit organization that champions the use of open data and evidence-informed public policy to make society better for everyone. We are the trusted authority on the use of open, accessible data to fuel a more efficient, effective, and accountable government; spark innovation; and provide insights to the country’s most pressing challenges. As a nonpartisan think tank, we conduct research, collaborative thought leadership, and advocacy programs that advance practical policies for the creation and use of accessible, trustworthy data.
