USDA launches local dashboard for farmers & ranchers
By Joe Hathaway on Wednesday, November 1st, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTHEAST OREGON — (Information from USDA) In a significant expansion of its farmers.gov dashboard initiative, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the availability of the farmers.gov local dashboard in Oregon. Launched as a pilot for Iowa in January of this year, the dashboard is now accessible to farmers and ranchers in 40 states.
The farmers.gov local dashboard serves as a centralized hub for farming data and USDA resources tailored to individual states and counties, providing a convenient and accessible platform for farmers to access relevant information.
The USDA says the farmers.gov local dashboard addresses the challenge of navigating disparate online sources for farming-related data and information. It particularly aims to assist beginning farmers and ranchers in starting or expanding their operations by consolidating USDA data sets and local resources into an easily navigable format.
“We created the farmers.gov local dashboard so that you can easily access materials that are relevant to you and your farm operation in a single place,” stated a USDA spokesperson. “We also transformed some of the complex data sets into easy-to-read charts and graphs to help you quickly find information that matters to you.”
Dashboard Features
The farmers.gov local dashboard offers a range of features to aid farmers in managing their operations efficiently. Some key features include:
State USDA News: Stay informed with the latest updates, program deadlines, and more from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Commodity Pricing: Access daily or weekly commodity pricing information, including trends over time, sourced from USDA Market News.
Weather Forecast: Plan and prepare for weather conditions with current, upcoming, and severe weather information from the National Weather Service (NWS).
Historical Climate Data: Analyze weather patterns over the past ten years using historical temperature and precipitation data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
Past Storm Events: Stay aware of past storm events in your area, crucial for applying for crop insurance or USDA disaster assistance programs.
USDA Service Centers: Easily find and contact local USDA service centers for FSA, NRCS, or Rural Development (RD) offices.
Additional State Resources: Explore additional resources, including drought data, contact information for state coordinators, and state agency offices.
The USDA encourages farmers to explore the farmers.gov local dashboard and provide feedback. A login is not required, making it easy for users to select their state and county to access agriculture data and USDA resources. The USDA plans to continue expanding and enhancing the dashboard based on user feedback.
To stay updated on the latest developments and announcements, farmers are encouraged to subscribe to the farmers.gov email list.
