Allows producers to provide a quick status check of their fields contracted under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

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Client

Farm Service Agency


Background 

CBI partnered with producers and USDA staff to design and build a field to get accurate assessment of vegetation cover and quality of CRP fields. Currently, county staff would physically need to visit these sites. Sometimes these reviews won’t happen since it is time-consuming and they are already overloaded with other tasks.


Problem

USDA staff has difficulty in verifying if producers are complying with contracts. 


Target Audience

County, state, and DC staff of USDA


Goals

Enable staff members to retrieve field app data, perform reviews of contracts, and verify program compliance. 


Challenges
  1. Needed information to collect but difficult to display

    • Species shown to Producers 

      • Unable to import from agreement - sensitivity issue

      • Tedious to document (doesn’t seem like a question for a mobile format)

    • Location of field - visibility of government land is sensitive information

      • Accuracy of information collected if not by map

  2. Reworking of questions

    • Teams not aligned from the beginning

    • Process of taking the report

      • Understanding that they’ll need to take the report again

    • Presentation of question


Usability Testing

We tested the mobile field app on over 35 fields to incorporate feedback from on-the-ground users and test the effectiveness of the experience.

CBI team outing to test mobile field app for usability testing shown below.


Outcome