Introducing Farm Service Agency's Budget and Performance Management System (BPMS) Internet Site

BPMS is a management tool to facilitate the Farm Service Agency's transformation to a more performance-based, results-focused organization.

FSA's efforts to improve performance management are driven by internal and external factors. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993 (Pub. L. 103-62) requires Federal agencies to focus managerial emphasis on program execution and to compare results achieved with desired outcomes. Additionally, the President's Management Agenda (PMA), announced in the summer of 2001, sets forth a number of strategies to improve government performance and management.

One of the key areas emphasized in the PMA is Budget and Performance Integration (BPI). A goal of BPI is to allocate limited Federal resources efficiently to those programs that deliver results.

In response to the Budget and Performance Integration, FSA has implemented the Budget and Performance Management System (BPMS). BPMS assists the Agency in its goal to improve efficiencies in the delivery of commodity, conservation, and loan programs to FSA customers, while remaining transparent to external stakeholders and maintaining fiscal responsibility.

The Agency developed its strategic goals and objectives, key end outcomes, and supporting performance measures through collaboration with all of its agricultural partners (Federal, State, local, and non-governmental) as well as internal and external stakeholders. The FSA strategic goals now cut across traditional program lines to bring greater focus on societal outcomes and efficient use of taxpayer dollars. The goals align closely to the USDA's FY 2005 - 2010 Strategic Plan as well as the PMA objectives.

FSA is developing information technology systems, including activity-based reporting functions, to support the strategic objectives which are tied to the goals. Each major program grouping under these goals will be evaluated through both outcome-oriented and efficiency measures. As a whole, these strategies are key elements to ensure the success of our Nation's farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers.