The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Palantir Technologies signed a $300 million Blanket Purchase Agreement on April 22, awarding Palantir a sole-source contract to modernize farm records and address foreign threats to American agricultural programs.
“Farmers should be engaging in what they do, which is farming out on the field, not waiting in line, not driving to get somewhere to fill out a paper form.”
Inside Palantir’s $300M partnership with the USDA:https://t.co/hmnobx5cow
— Palantir (@PalantirTech) April 22, 2026
The award bypassed competitive bidding. A sole-source justification posted to SAM.gov cited Palantir’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) High authorization and Department of Defense Impact Level 5 (IL5) credentials, which USDA determined no competitor held across its existing technical architecture.
The agreement funds the National Farm Security Action Plan (NFSAP) and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ “One Farmer, One File” initiative, designed to create a unified digital record for producers across USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk Management Agency (RMA). Palantir’s Landmark platform at USDA supported the $11 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program’s digital rollout in February.
“Protecting America’s farmland is protecting America itself, and this work gives USDA the visibility and speed needed to safeguard our food supply,” USDA Chief Information Officer Sam Berry said.
Palantir 🤝 US Department of Agriculturehttps://t.co/tvAga6MU6G
— Palantir (@PalantirTech) April 22, 2026
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) has called on USDA to overhaul reporting under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA), warning existing rules leave openings for rival nations to acquire strategic leverage through U.S. land purchases.
Palantir has built its government business on defense contracts since its 2003 founding. Its Maven Smart System, an AI-assisted targeting platform in active use by U.S. forces in Iran, runs on the same core architecture now being extended into farm data management.
“The fact that you can now target more precisely has shifted the way in which war is fought,” CEO Alex Karp said at AIPCon in March.
USDA expects full system rollout by 2028, as American farmers navigate rising production costs from shipping disruptions in the conflict with Iran.
