USDA Agency Taps Tablets for Farm Surveys

How did the National Agricultural Statistics Service prepare survey takers nationwide to use iPads — literally in the field?

<p>USDA's Ramonia Davis, Kevin Harding, Pam Hird, Renee Picanso and Barbara Turtelot</p>

<ul>
<li>The Agriculture Department was one of the first federal agencies to deploy iPads into a production environment.</li>
<li>NASS developed a training program that prepares its enumerators, many of whom are retired farmers, to use the tablets in just 12 hours.</li>
<li>The program uses unique measures, including storing data in the cloud, to keep its data secure.</li>
</ul>