Fordyce: Consolidating USDA Systems Strengthens Ag Data Privacy, Security
Brownfield
The USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation says the agency is addressing concerns about ag data security in the One Farmer One File initiative.
The USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation says the agency is addressing concerns about ag data security in the One Farmer One File initiative.
Richard Fordyce says merging dozens of separate farm programs into a single network can be done safely. “The data is the farmers.’ We know that. We protect that, and we think that more vulnerabilities exist when you have a system that has 72 independent and separate running systems as opposed to one platform.”
He tells Brownfield USDA has selected a vendor that will help modernize the collection and delivery of information across FSA, NRCS and RMA. “Of the 70 some independent IT systems, we might have 25 outside vendors. Eliminating those down to one, I think, is certainly good business and it’s good security management.”
Last month USDA awarded a $300 million contract to Planatir Technologies Inc. Fordyce says it was the only company with the right data models and system connections to meet the project’s deadline.
Fordyce says an updated system could help farmers access more market opportunities, with stronger privacy and security protections. “Let’s design this system so if there is a need for an independent, third-party capture of data to report to a market that the farmer is using, we’re going to be able to do that too.”
He says the end-user agreements are not part of the current set-up but is optimistic that could be the next phase.