Veneman said that farmers and ranchers will even be able to cross-reference that data with interactive maps of their operations using geographic information systems, or GIS, technology with overlays for roads, soil types, water and other geographic features.
"Producers will have quick and easy access in a single gateway to the volumes and volumes of maps and geospatial data generated by USDA," Veneman said. "Instead of traveling to a county office, farmers and ranchers will be able to log on from a computer to apply for loan deficiency payments over the Internet.
The goal is to provide integrated service around customer needs. For example, USDA is preparing a new Commodity Market Information System, or CMIS, to bring together many sources of commodity information from our various agencies in one place. The CMIS will be up-to-date and searchable providing user-friendly access to the more than 3,000 commodity-related reports USDA produces every year.
Quelle: Agriculture.com, 13.01.2004