Agriculture's $300M Palantir push

The Agriculture Department has started a $300 million Palantir software deal that ties farm-service records to national-security work. (fedscoop.com) FedScoop reported on April 22 that the agreement is a blanket purchase agreement with a $300 million ceiling, and Palantir executives said it continues work the company was already doing for the department. The first task order covers the National Farm Security Action Plan and the “One Farmer, One File” project. (fedscoop.com) The Department of Agriculture said on February 26 that “One Farmer, One File” is meant to create a single record that follows a producer across the agency’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Risk Management Agency systems. The department said it began the work in 2025 and expects completion in 2028. (usda.gov) Palantir and the department said on April 22 that the software purchase agreement also supports the National Farm Security Action Plan, which the administration is framing as part of food-supply protection. CNBC reported the deal as a move to safeguard the food supply while extending Palantir’s reach beyond its better-known defense work. (businesswire.com) (cnbc.com) The same playbook is showing up at the Federal Aviation Administration, where the agency is not buying one off-the-shelf system and walking away. FedScoop reported on April 21 that FAA teams are working with artificial-intelligence vendors to build customized software for air-traffic-control modernization. (fedscoop.com) Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the Modern Skies Summit on April 21 that the FAA is “not looking for some massive platform” and instead wants a common operational spine that different tools can plug into, according to FedScoop. That approach matches the advice Palantir executives gave smaller public-sector teams in the same FedScoop briefing. (fedscoop.com 1) (fedscoop.com 2) In practice, that means agencies are trying to connect old databases, forms and workflows before layering on newer artificial-intelligence tools. The Agriculture Department’s version is a farmer record that moves with the customer; the FAA’s version is software that helps controllers and planners see the same operating picture. (usda.gov) (fedscoop.com) Palantir’s expanding federal role also brings familiar scrutiny. CNBC noted the company has faced backlash over work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security even as it pushes deeper into civilian agencies. (cnbc.com) For now, the immediate test is whether the Agriculture Department can turn a $300 million software ceiling into a working record system before its 2028 target. The FAA is trying a similar bet in a different setting: build the shared backbone first, then fit the tools to it. (usda.gov) (fedscoop.com)