WASHINGTON, D.C. – A major modernization effort designed to consolidate, secure, and streamline records across the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk Management Agency (RMA) is underway within the USDA.
The “One Farmer, One File” modernization puts technological improvements in place to streamline application processes in various USDA programs for farmers and ranchers. Through “One Farmer, One File,” USDA’s mission is to create a single, streamlined record that follows the farmer and rancher — no matter where they go in the USDA system.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) work with agricultural producers on a wide range of programs and services, from establishing a farm number to reporting acres planted, and from getting capital to recovering from disasters.
The goal of “One Farmer, One File” is to reduce the administrative burden for producers. Additionally, this effort will make program delivery more efficient, save time for USDA staff, and decrease spending on disparate information technology systems.
“Farmers and ranchers rely on USDA for up-to-date resources to keep our businesses running and our food supply secure,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “This announcement is welcome news to ensure farmers quickly receive the information and resources they need.”
He continued, “At a time when farmers are facing a tough farm economy and rising pressures, we all count on USDA to deliver the programs and support that will keep our farms moving forward. Farmers and ranchers need to make every dollar and every minute count on the farm and ranch, and having an easier system to navigate USDA programs will free up farmers and ranchers for the work of growing our nation’s food, fiber and fuel.”
The “One Farmer, One File” initiative is part of a broad modernization effort to unify all FSA, NRCS and RMA systems. This uniformed system will retire legacy systems and remove agency silos. The USDA began significantly modernizing its application processes and IT systems around 2012, with major efforts accelerating with the launch of the Farmers.gov portal in 2018. USDA plans to greatly advance the effort in 2026 and anticipates completing the project in 2028.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the effort will allow USDA to “retire 1,000 contractors” but she did not provide details on how the new unified computer system will be created or who will do the job. A USDA spokesperson confirmed that the system will be developed with Palantir, the artificial intelligence and data company co-founded by Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire and a prominent donor and supporter of President Donald Trump.
