USDA posts open gov Web page

Agriculture Department officials have launched USDA's open-government Web page before the Feb. 6 deadline set by the White House’s Open Government Directive.

By that date, departments and agencies must create an open-government Web page named www.[agency].gov/open to serve as the gateway for agency activities under the directive.

USDA officials separated the department's open-government site into two sections; one for discussing ideas proposed by the USDA, and the other for posting new ideas.

In the “Discuss Our Ideas” section, the public is invited to learn about and comment on USDA information such as available and proposed datasets, records, reports and other resources.

In the “Share Your Ideas” section, the public is asked to contribute ideas on how USDA can become more open and collaborative.

“You can also submit comments or vote on other ideas,” according to the site. “Your participation will help us create USDA’s Open Gov Plan and be more innovative & efficient.”

Meanwhile, the Labor Department’s-open government Web site lists the datasets made available by that department.