North Dakotan overseeing federal farm programs out to cut red tape, modernize 

WEST FARGO, N.D. — Jared Hagert said his main message to farmers at the Big Iron farm show was: If you haven’t set up an account at login.gov, get it done.

Hagert is the North Dakota farmer and former lawmaker now overseeing federal farm programs who was back in his home state Tuesday to speak at the opening day of the ag show.

A key part of his job as deputy administrator for farm programs for the Farm Service Agency is modernizing the systems for disaster aid, price supports and loan programs.

USDA calls the modernization effort One Farmer, One File, with the signup at login.gov.

Improvements in farm data reporting starting in North Dakota

Hagert said USDA plans to retire 100 outdated computer systems, but the modernization is about more than technology. The agency is trying to eliminate duplicative forms and other ways to cut red tape.

“We’re looking at all of it,” Hagert said.

The goal is to have one spot where farmers can supply information for Farm Service Agency programs but also for other USDA agencies — the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Risk Management Agency.

Chris McDonald, who farms near Leonard in Richland County, said he’s hopeful streamlining means fewer visits to USDA agency offices, where staffing has become an issue.

“It’s going to save time for everybody, not having to run from one office to the next office,” McDonald said. “They don’t have enough workers to cover everything, so it might help that way, too.”

Office staffing has come up often when Hagert visits ag producers, and some rural counties have a small workforce pool to draw from. Modernization may not lead to FSA needing less staff, he said, but should make the system more efficient for employees and farmers who can do more from their computer or their phone.

North Dakota and Grand Forks County, where Hagert farms, played a key role in what Hagert called the “tip of the spear” in the modernization effort.

Grand Forks County was a pilot county for a new system for uploading data from reporting maps, where farmers supply information about what crops have been planted in which fields and other information. North Dakota and Maryland became the first to test the system statewide before it was adopted nationwide in August, Hagert said.

Farmers should see more progress in the coming year, he said.

But for farmers who may not be ready to adjust to the new system, the county FSA offices are not going away.

“We want to meet farmers where they’re at,” he said.

Reach North Dakota Monitor deputy editor Jeff Beach at [email protected]