(Washington, D.C., March 9, 2026) - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins published an opinion piece in the Des Moines Register highlighting the need to modernize and streamline federal processes for producers, emphasizing the USDA's new "One Farmer, One File" initiative, which replaces hundreds of outdated systems with a single, unified digital record designed to cut red tape, accelerate approvals, and deliver program funds to farmers more efficiently.

"Recently USDA rolled out the "One Farmer, One File" initiative, which puts Farmers First by improving how they interact with USDA. This modernization effort replaces an antiquated system and delivers a single, streamlined record that follows the farmer - no matter where they go in the USDA system," said Secretary Rollins. "President Trump understands that our farmers deserve administrative support that makes their lives simpler and more rewarding. When we reduce bureaucratic burdens on our farmers, they can spend more time on what they do best: feeding, clothing, and fueling America and the rest of the world."

Read the full piece below.

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In just a few months, we will celebrate America's 250th birthday and two and a half centuries of freedom. And while the spirit of the American Revolution is always worth celebrating, it shouldn't feel like we are still stuck in 1776 when it comes to customer service from our federal government. Yet for too many Americans, that is exactly what happens when they submit an application for assistance. That includes our great farmers and ranchers, who deserve far better.

President Donald Trump understands the frustration inherent in navigating old, duplicative, and wasteful systems that keep our farmers tied up in reams of paperwork instead of out in the field - and he's doing something about it. Last year, the president directed every federal agency to reimagine their public facing services and create tools that are simple, modern, secure, and centered on real needs. At the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), we're enthusiastically responding to his call.

Recently USDA rolled out the "One Farmer, One File" initiative, which puts Farmers First by improving how they interact with USDA. This modernization effort replaces an antiquated system and delivers a single, streamlined record that follows the farmer - no matter where they go in the USDA system. The result? Less red tape, expedited approvals, and program dollars that get out the door and into farmers' pockets faster than a seed sprouts.

"One Farmer, One File" will succeed where prior attempts to modernize USDA have failed. Previous efforts have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, while only delivering a fraction of what they intended to accomplish. These failed efforts have contributed to the current status quo, where USDA's FPAC mission area runs on over 500 separate outdated systems, is managed by more than 1,000 contractors, and costs taxpayers over $1 billion every year for FPAC IT alone.

Another drag on quick service has been the lack of a digital sign-up option, which causes delays in processing. delays in approval, and delays in getting program dollars deposited into bank accounts. Our farmers know better than anyone that time is money - and President Trump knows this as well.

Thanks to his remarkable leadership, the era of inefficiency is now at an end.

At the same time, it's important to note that USDA will always offer in-person support, paper applications, and traditional acreage reporting. This is not a mandate to digitize but an expansion of farmers' options. And when this initiative is complete, producers will be able to access their USDA data in a single, modern, secure system built to today's cybersecurity standards.

The first phase of this multi-year initiative is already proving what a unified, digital USDA can do. This past Monday we opened applications ahead of schedule for our Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, consisting of $11 billion in targeted support to American row crop farmers.

This is the very first program running fully on this new platform - and in just four days we saw 50 times more producers sign up online than the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program did over its entire five-month sign-up period last year. Several billion dollars have already been obligated, faster than any program ever before. That is what happens when you remove friction, eliminate paperwork, and let people apply from wherever they are.

And this is just the beginning. Soon, we will modernize the acreage reporting system, which has also been stuck in the past. Until now, producers have had to drive to a county office, acquire a paper map, and then manually certify their acres every year with paper and pencil. This spring we will roll out a new-and-improved advanced acreage reporting platform that will allow farmers to file faster and easier than ever before. We are currently working with FSA county offices to pilot geospatial acreage reporting, which promises to deliver programs and assistance with record speed and precision.

Over the next two years, we will extend this modernization across the entire department. Soon our new system will capture all the ways farmers interact with USDA, giving us the ability to prefill applications and recommend programs and assistance.

President Trump understands that our farmers deserve administrative support that makes their lives simpler and more rewarding. When we reduce bureaucratic burdens on our farmers, they can spend more time on what they do best: feeding, clothing, and fueling America and the rest of the world.

Brooke Rollins is United States Secretary of Agriculture.

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