SAS honored by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture for bringing analytics and AI-driven insights to US farmers

Agriculture projects focus on global trade & market development, regional food system resiliency, natural resources and animal health

CARY, N.C., Oct. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Data and AI leader SAS received the NASDA Public-Private Partnership Award in recognition of projects that are positively impacting the nation's agricultural sector and the success of US farmers. The award honors work that is truly collaborative between government and partners, and includes a significant, valuable public benefit, service or resource that positively impacts the country. SAS projects will expand global market opportunities for American farms, improve food system resiliency, enhance drought and crop growth assessments and deliver analytics and AI-powered insights to US farmers and growers.

"The variety of projects demonstrates the vast potential for data, advanced analytics and AI to expand market opportunities for American farmers, aligned with global Ag trade priorities championed by Secretary Brooke Rollins," said John Gottula, Principal Advisor for AI and Biostatistics at SAS. "This isn't research for research's sake; we are aligning with USDA and key agricultural priorities to generate real data-driven results that are benefiting US agriculture today."

Since 1972, NASDA has conducted the annual honor awards program to recognize the exemplary work of employees, state departments of agriculture and the organizations with which they partner.

According to NASDA, "SAS has gone above and beyond as a leader in our partner network. Since joining our network in 2022, the SAS team has proactively sought solutions to the issues our states have raised at NASDA meetings. This year, SAS has brought about four regional and national solutions that address issues our members face with an inaccurate drought system, international market development and regional food system resiliency. It is a unique partnership we share with SAS, and we want to highlight their effort to help us serve our members and ensure agriculture leads the way toward a healthy and resilient world."

Four projects tackling real-world agricultural challenges

SAS worked with its partners on four projects:

• Global Trade Analytics: By bringing together agricultural and market data from 180 countries, the US gains better visibility into global market opportunities for farmers and better-informed trade negotiations for American agricultural products.
• Animal Disease Intelligence: SAS is applying its historical strengths in epidemiology and data management to investigate animal pathogens such as avian influenza, antimicrobial-resistant microbes and parasites.
• Food Security: By mapping networks of food and storage availability opposite need, market development agencies help growers find local market opportunities while providing easier access to healthier foods for more Americans.
• Natural Resources: This project is leveraging AI and crop models to create predictive models for better policy outcomes.

Learn more about how SAS supports public sector priorities with government AI and analytics solutions.

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SOURCE SAS