From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: How Does USDA Ensure the Integrity of Programs for U.S. Farmers? Description: Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributes billions of dollars in payments to farmers. These payments provide income that supports producers of key crops such as corn, cotton, and soybeans. We talk with GAO's Steve Morris--an expert on federal agriculture programs and a director in our Natural Resources and Environment Team--about a new report on the Farm Service Agency's (FSA) oversight of this program. Related GAO Work: GAO-21-95, Farm Programs: USDA Has Improved Its Completion of Eligibility Compliance Reviews, but Additional Oversight Is Needed Released: November 2020 [Intro Music] [Steve Morris:] We think implementing our recommendations will help USDA better ensure that only persons who are actively contributing to the farm are receiving payments. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office--I'm Holly Hobbs. Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributes billions of dollars in payments to farmers. These payments provide income supports to producers of key crops such as corn, cotton, and soybeans. In 2013, GAO reviewed this program and found weaknesses in how USDA's Farm Service Agency oversees the program--including how it checks that those receiving payments met eligibility requirements like being actively engaged in farming. Today we talk with GAO's Steve Morris--an expert on federal agriculture programs and a director in our Natural Resources and Environment team--about a new report that follows up on our work to see if FSA has improved its oversight. Thanks for joining us Steve! [Steve Morris:] Thanks for having me on. [Holly Hobbs:] So Steve, in 2013, we reported on FSA oversight of its farm program, and FSA implemented our recommendations for that report. But, we're doing a new report, so must have new concerns about their oversight. Why are we looking at this again? [Steve Morris:] The government provides financial support to farmers if they can show that they are, what's called, actively engaged in farming, which essentially means they contributed capital, labor, and/or management to the farm. So, each year, USDA conducts reviews to ensure that only farmers who are meeting the requirements are getting payments. The reviews will typically focus on famers who receive the highest payment amounts, which sometimes is over $1 million dollars. Now the good news is that the agency is doing a better job of conducting the reviews and they've also developed an electronic system to more easily track the completion and the results of the reviews. The not so good news here, Holly, is that USDA doesn't monitor the system to ensure that the review information is recorded accurately. So, for instance, we found that some reviews reported as complete were also reported as not conducted--which really raises some concerns about the UDSA's ability to ensure that only eligible farmers are receiving payments. [Holly Hobbs:] So, just to be clear. It sounds like FSA doesn't know whether some people, who are not actively farming, are still receiving checks? Is that correct? [Steve Morris:] Well, yes Holly. I mean, there is a concern given that conducting these oversight reviews can be challenging to begin with. So, for example, verifying whether someone is actually involved in managing the farm by making decisions about when to plant and harvest crops can be very difficult. One tool USDA can use to verify these contributions is to interview folks to assess their knowledge of the farm and its operation. But, we found that this doesn't really happen often. Just as an example--USDA conducting interviews in only 6 of the 27 reviews that we examined. [Holly Hobbs:] And, what does it mean to be actively engaged in farming? [Steve Morris:] To check that persons are actually contributing capital, and labor, and management to the farm, USDA will review various business documents, work records, residence information, and other types of data. USDA may also conduct interviews to obtain additional insights about the farm, its members, and the claimed contributions to the farm. But as I just mentioned, Holly, this does not always happen. [Music:] [Holly Hobbs:] So, it sounds like FSA has made improvements to its oversight of its farm program to better ensure that the farmers who receive payments are actively engaged in farming. But that there are still some gaps in that oversight. Steve, did we make any recommendations to help FSA improve its oversight? [Steve Morris:] We made several recommendations to improve the oversight. For example, you know, we think USDA can better monitor that tracking system I just mentioned to ensure that the reviews are completed and recorded accurately; and also make better use of interviews when verifying claimed contributions to the farm. [Holly Hobbs:] And last question--what's the bottom line of this report? [Steve Morris:] Well Holly, you know, USDA provides billions of dollars in payments every year to support farmers who are actively engaged in farming. USDA has made some progress in overseeing these payments, but we identified some opportunities for further improvements. And we think that implementing our recommendations will help USDA better ensure that only persons who are actively contributing to the farm are receiving payments. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Steve Morris talking about GAO's recent review of farm programs. Thank you for your time Steve! [Steve Morris:] Thank you, Holly. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. And make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.