Changes Needed in Section 1619 of the 2008 Farm Bill
Issue:
Restrictions upon the release of USDA geospatial data that were included in Section 1619 of the 2008 Farm Bill have resulted in a negative impact upon agricultural professionals, producers, landowners and others who utilize Common Land Unit (CLU) data (field borders) in their professions on a regular basis. A technical corrections bill or an amendment is needed to change Section 1619 to restore public access to CLU Data.
Background:
It is important to note that CLU data is separate from and does not contain compliance information, wetland, CRP, or ownership information. The CLU is geospatial data that contains the field boundary.
On February 15, 2008 the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a district court ruling under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and ordered the release of USDA compliance data. In response to this court action, Section 1619 was added to the 2008 Farm Bill during the conference committee process without public hearings. In addition to restricting access to compliance data, access to CLU data was restricted as well. The CLU data that is now restricted was available to the public for many years and its availability was never questioned.
Implications:
Producers and professionals in many agriculture and land related industries have come to rely upon the availability of this data. It has been suggested that access to this information can be obtained simply by asking each individual producer for access to his information. It is not feasible to ask producers to do this because of the amount of time and effort that is involved for a producer to request and receive his data and distribute copies to each vendor or service provider who needs it. Most FSA offices will not honor signed release forms nor do they have the personnel and technical resources to handle these requests in a timely manner.
This data was available for download from the USDA, NRCS Data Gateway since 2004 until the restrictions of Section 1619 were implemented. These restrictions translate into lost productivity and represent a step backwards for modern agriculture practices. Businesses have been launched and products developed to provide more efficient, effective and timely services for the farmer at a lower cost.
Next steps:
We want to increase awareness of the negative impact of Section 1619. Prior to these restrictions, CLU data was available for download with field boundary and acres. At a minimum, we are asking for restoration of public access to the field boundary and acres that has been available since 2004. Better services can be provided to the producer if the following attributes are also included: Tract Number, Farm Number, Field Number, Primary Classification of Land Unit Type, and Administrating County and State Office. Restoring access to CLU data will allow the American agriculture industry to continue to provide valuable services to the farmer.
8/28/08 Prepared by: AgriData, Inc., www.agridatainc.com 701-746-8580
