Section 1619 of the 2008 Farm Bill – The Impact Upon the Farmer

Supporters of Section 1619 say that the farmer can still access his information by requesting a copy of his CLU data from the FSA office, then give his data to the service provider. In theory, this sounds like a simple solution, but in reality it doesn’t work.

Prior to Section 1619, service providers had access to this information themselves. Now, the farmer needs to request and provide his CLU data to each service provider with whom he works. Following is a description of the process.

The Farmer and the FSA Office

Before Section 1619:   Farmers did not need to request the information from the FSA office because the service providers could access the field boundaries and acres online themselves. In fact, most farmers are unaware of what this data is or how it is used because they are accustomed to the service providers having the data. Most of them will remain unaware of the implications until a service provider asks them for their data. Most farmers work with numerous service providers, all of whom may request the farmer to personally provide them with his data.

After Section 1619:   Information requests that could previously be completed in just a few seconds online now require several hours of a farmer’s time and include delays of one or two weeks or more. The farmer must first travel to the nearest FSA office and submit his request. He must remember to bring a blank CD with him, or he will need to return again. In theory, the FSA office can make a copy of the information in just a few minutes but that is not possible if other priorities or duties prevail. This is a manual process that is time-consuming and prone to errors. If a farmer makes any changes to the fields he is farming, a new CD must be requested.

The reality

Service providers have built efficiencies through the use of CLU data that have saved the farmer time and money. Farmers who request and provide CLU information to the service providers themselves are finding it to be a time-consuming, frustrating process. Many are choosing not to request and provide the CLU data, forcing the service providers to revert to prior methods of identifying fields. This makes their services more costly to the farmer.