There is good news for local farmers and ranchers.

The USDA announces a more streamlined approach for farmers who must file crop acreage reports with the Farm Service Agency and participating providers approved by the Risk Management Agency.

They can now provide common info from their acreage reports at one office and it will be shared electronically with the other location.

“If you file your report at one location, the data that’s important to both FSA and RMA will be securely and electronically share with the other location,” said FSA Administrator Val Dolcini. “This will avoid redundant and duplicative reporting, and we expect this to save farmers and ranchers time.”

RMA officials say this should help with accuracy.

“Accuracy in crop reporting is a key component for crop insurance, because an error in this information can affect premiums or claims,” said RMA administrator Brandon Willis. “This is going to greatly improve efficiencies and reduce mistakes.”

Officials said that more than 93 percent of all annual reported acres to FSA and RMA are now eligible for the common data reporting, and USDA is exploring adding more crops.

Producers must still visit both locations to validate and sign acreage reports, complete maps or provide program-specific information.

The common data from the first-filed acreage report will now be available to pre-populate and accelerate completion of the second report.

Plans are under way at USDA to continue building upon the framework with additional efficiencies at a future date.

For more information on this program, contact the local FSA office at 334-222-3519.