Agricultural News
USDA to Measure Economic Well-being of American Farms
Mon, 28 Jan 2013 10:43:03 CST
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will spend the next several months contacting farmers and ranchers across the nation to conduct the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). NASS conducts ARMS jointly with USDA's Economic Research Service. In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, the federal agencies will reach out to nearly 35,000 producers nationwide. The results of this survey will serve as a baseline for numerous federal policies and programs that affect U.S. farms and farm families.
"ARMS is our primary tool for gauging the financial condition andproduction practices on American farms and ranches," said Wilber Hundl, Jr. director of the NASS Oklahoma Field Office. "By participating in this survey, Oklahoma farmers directly impact the decisions that affect them, their families and their operations."
"Decision makers from all facets of U.S. agriculture will use the collective information from ARMS to answer questions and make important decisions concerning the economic viability of American agriculture, the rural economy and other emerging issues," explained Hundl "That's why it is imperative for all farmers contacted by NASS to provide responses and help shape the future of U.S. agriculture."
"As you may know, NASS is currently also conducting the mandatory Census of Agriculture, which occurs every five years," explained Hundl "To make it easier on these farmers, responding to ARMS fulfills the growers' 2012 Census of Agriculture obligations."
As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all responses, ensuring no individual respondent or operation can be identified.
The economic data gathered in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report on August 2, 2013. All NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.
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