Secretary Rollins and NASA Administrator Isaacman Sign MOU to Advance USDA Data Modernization Plan

Today [October 24, 2026], U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Jared Isaacman signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and NASA that will strengthen USDA’s data quality and help ensure that American farmers and ranchers benefit from and have access to cutting-edge technologies.

Effective immediately, both Departments will work together to guide cooperation on integrating Earth observation, geospatial analytics, and statistical methodologies in support of agricultural statistics and aligned with USDA’s ongoing data and technology modernization efforts.

“American farmers are the best in the world...

Secretary Rollins Unveils Plan to Modernize Agricultural Data Collection and Put Farmers First

Today, at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Data Modernization Plan to put Farmers First, reduce unnecessary burdens on producers, and improve the timeliness, accuracy, and usefulness of the agricultural data that informs decisions across American agriculture.

Since USDA was established in 1862, collecting and sharing reliable agricultural information has been central to its mission. Today, USDA data informs crop and livestock estimates, risk-management tools, disaster assistance, and critical business decisions...