Michael Scuse, Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, has announced a package of technology enhancements from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) that include Web access for handheld and smartphone users, as well as a more efficient and timely option for receiving news and critical program information.
The technology improvements will allow users of FSA information to gain access to easy-to-read data, including key features such as loan deficiency payment (LDP) rates, posted county prices (PCP), FSA news releases and AskFSA, the agency’s online self-help knowledge base.
Assistance For Agriculture
The announcement by FSA underscores USDA’s Blueprint for Stronger Service, a plan introduced in January by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that takes a realistic view of the needs of American agriculture in a challenging budget climate and lays out USDA’s plans to modernize and accelerate service delivery while improving the customer experience through use of innovative technologies and effective business solutions.
Three of the 27 initial recommendations implemented by USDA focus on information technology, while other process im-provements already put into place by FSA have strengthened the agency’s electronic customer service and online presence.
“As an increasing number of farmers and ranchers move to mobile devices and other high-tech tools, we need to keep pace by investing in the best possible customer service while making the best use of taxpayer resources,” Scuse says.
USDA contributed information for this article. For more details, go to www.usda.gov. |
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