---
title: "To Do: Permit USDA to Release Common Land Unit Data"
summary: |-
  Congress should permit USDA to share the data to spur advances in precision agriculture, create new business opportunities, and improve farm productivity.
date: "2017-05-15"
issues: ["Data Innovation"]
content_type: "Knowledge Base Articles"
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2017/05/15/to-do-permit-usda-to-release-common-land-unit-data/"
---

# To Do: Permit USDA to Release Common Land Unit Data

# Recommendation

Congress should permit USDA to publicly release common land unit data.

# Details

USDA’s Farm Service Agency maintains a database of common land units (CLU)—the smallest unit of land that has a permanent, contiguous boundary, a common land cover and land management, and a common owner or producer—which covers cropland in the United States. CLU data could provide private sector and the public at large valuable information to optimize land use, monitor environmental hazards, and support small-business interests, but Congress bars USDA from sharing this data publicly. Congress should permit USDA to share the data to spur advances in precision agriculture, create new business opportunities, and improve farm productivity.

**Keep reading:**

- Daniel Castro, Joshua New, and Matt Beckwith, “10 Steps Congress Can Take to Accelerate Data Innovation” (ITIF, Center for Data Innovation, May 2017), [http://www2.datainnovation.org/2017-data-innovation-agenda.pdf](http://www2.datainnovation.org/2017-data-innovation-agenda.pdf).

---
*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2017/05/15/to-do-permit-usda-to-release-common-land-unit-data/*