USDA CIO Sam Berry departs role to focus on farmer record modernization

Overview

USDA CIO Sam Berry is stepping down from his CIO role to focus on the "One Farmer, One File" modernization initiative, with CISO Tony Brannum expected to serve as acting CIO. This leadership change comes while USDA has an active $300 million Blanket Purchase Agreement with Palantir awarded in April 2025 for IT modernization work. For contractors, the transition could reshape program priorities, timelines, and points of contact for ongoing and future modernization work at USDA. Contractors should expect possible shifts in procurement emphasis, re-evaluation of task orders under the existing BPA (Blanket Purchase Agreement), and renewed attention on the One Farmer, One File effort. Action is needed now to protect current task orders, re-align capture plans to the agency’s modernization priorities, and validate compliance posture against the named compliance regimes.

Immediate Actions (This Week)

• [ ] Monitor USDA communications and public announcements for confirmation of acting CIO appointment and any immediate policy or procurement notices.
• [ ] Review any current task orders or engagements tied to the April 2025 Blanket Purchase Agreement with Palantir to document status, deliverables, and contract points of contact.
• [ ] Prepare a short briefing for internal stakeholders summarizing how your services map to the "One Farmer, One File" initiative and the Palantir BPA scope.
• [ ] Validate and document your current FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program), NIST 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171), and FISMA posture for offerings and active work with USDA.
• [ ] Flag active proposals and capture efforts that specifically reference USDA IT modernization so account teams can prioritize outreach and information updates.

Short-Term Actions (30 Days)

• [ ] Reach out to identified USDA program contacts (contracting officers, program managers) to confirm continuity of programs and update your status/capabilities briefing.
• [ ] Refresh capture plans and win themes to emphasize alignment with One Farmer, One File objectives and IT modernization priorities; update past performance and capability statements accordingly.
• [ ] Run a gap analysis for FedRAMP, NIST 800-171, and FISMA requirements applicable to services you propose to deliver to USDA and begin remediation planning for any gaps.
• [ ] Establish monitoring (alerts/saved searches) for follow-on solicitations, task orders, or modifications tied to the BPA and One Farmer, One File modernization effort.

Long-Term Actions (90+ Days)

• [ ] Execute a scenario-based capture plan for likely solicitation paths (direct task orders, BPA tasking, or new solicitations) and identify teaming/subcontract opportunities with BPA holders.
• [ ] Invest in completing any required authorizations or evidence packages for FedRAMP, NIST 800-171, and FISMA to shorten response times to new task orders.
• [ ] Maintain ongoing stakeholder engagement at USDA to track shifting priorities under the acting CIO and to position for follow-on work as the One Farmer, One File initiative matures.
• [ ] Preserve audit-ready documentation for work under the Palantir BPA and other modernization engagements to reduce risk during leadership transitions.

Compliance Checklist

• [ ] FedRAMP: Confirm whether your cloud services require FedRAMP authorization for USDA engagements; if so, compile or update your SSP, System Inventory, and evidence for authorization.
• [ ] NIST 800-171: Map applicable NIST 800-171 controls to your systems supporting USDA, produce/update your System Security Plan (SSP), and create or update POA&Ms for gaps.
• [ ] FISMA: Ensure FISMA-relevant assets have documented security categorization, continuous monitoring plans, and evidence of security testing appropriate to the risk level.

Resources

• Link to agency guidance — USDA: https://www.usda.gov
• Link to regulation text — FedRAMP: https://www.fedramp.gov
• Link to regulation text — NIST SP 800-171 (NIST Special Publication 800-171): https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-171
• Link to regulation text — FISMA guidance: https://www.cisa.gov/federal-information-security-modernization-act

How Cabrillo Club Automates This

Cabrillo Signals War Room

• Cabrillo Signals War Room already detected this leadership change and delivered the initial briefing. It continuously monitors USDA announcements, contract vehicle updates, and policy notices so you receive near-real-time alerts if the agency posts procurement actions, task order modifications, or official guidance tied to the One Farmer, One File initiative or the Palantir BPA.

Cabrillo Signals Match Engine

• The Match Engine automatically rescors your opportunity pipeline when events like this shift the competitive landscape. It will re-weight matches for opportunities mentioning USDA IT modernization, One Farmer, One File, or the Palantir BPA and surface higher-priority leads to your capture teams so you can reassign effort quickly.

Cabrillo Signals Intelligence Hub

• The Intelligence Hub tracks affected agencies and the NAICS categories in your tagset. Use saved searches for USDA, the listed NAICS codes, and the market segments (IT Modernization, Data Analytics, Cloud Services, etc.) to receive alerts when follow-on solicitations, task orders, or amendments related to this event appear on public procurement sites.

Proposal Studio (Proposal OS)

• Proposal Studio uses your stored past performance and win themes to generate first-draft technical approaches and compliance matrices tailored to USDA modernization work. It can produce an initial bid/no-bid recommendation informed by the event and auto-populate FedRAMP, NIST 800-171, and FISMA evidence checklists for faster proposal turnarounds.

Proposal Studio Workflow Tracker

• The Workflow Tracker enforces your 9-gate capture process: it routes capture and compliance reviews, tracks supplier certifications, and compiles audit-ready documentation for task orders and BPA responses. For this event it will auto-create a capture workflow tied to USDA modernization, assign reviewers, and maintain a versioned record of outreach and compliance actions.

Call to action: Contact your Cabrillo Club account team to enable the saved searches and capture workflows above so your teams can act promptly on USDA modernization opportunities and maintain compliance readiness.