OASIS AN OVERVIEW

The assembly, processing, and dissemination of economic intelligence concerning agriculture is a complex process in which the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its subdivisions are greatly involved. The role of the Economics, Statistics, and Cooperatives Service in the information process is described and how recent enhancements in its internal information management help the agency to do a more effective job. The process of generating and disseminating forecasts and other economic information in ESCS is detailed. In addition, the motivation for improvements to the information system and the vehicle by which they were designed and implemented is presented.