USDA Rethinks the Numbers Behind Crop Reports
USDA crop reports can move markets in a matter of minutes, and farmers use those numbers to make some pretty important decisions of their own.
Now, USDA wants to modernize how it gets those numbers in the first place.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the department’s new Data Modernization Plan last week at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, with a focus on making data collection easier on farmers while improving the information USDA puts out.
And one reason for the change may sound familiar to anyone who's ever had another USDA survey land in their mailbox.
Chris Clayton with DTN reports farmer response rates have fallen from more than 60 percent a decade ago to under 40 percent for this year's June Acreage report.
USDA wants fewer repetitive requests, better mobile access to surveys and prefilled information where appropriate.
The plan also calls for testing improved satellite imagery, geospatial tools and crop models, while evaluating tools like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
USDA says it will begin putting the plan into action while continuing to get feedback from farmers and ranchers.
For more from the USDA, visit https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/09/01/secretary-rollins-unveils-plan-modernize-agricultural-data-collection-and-put-farmers-first
To read the DTN coverage cited, please see https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2026/09/01/turning-technology-usda-leaders-want
