Key Survey Period Begins Soon

The Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service will spend the next several months contacting farmers and ranchers across the nation to conduct the Agricultural Resource Management Survey. The survey’s results will serve as a baseline for numerous federal policies and programs that affect U.S. farms and farm families.

King Whetstone, director of the NASS New York Field Office, points to survey as being – our primary tool for gauging the financial condition and production practices on American farms and ranches. According to Whetstone, – by participating in this survey, farmers directly impact the decisions that affect them, their families and their operations.

In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, the federal agencies will reach out to nearly 35-thousand producers nationwide between January 23 and April 6. The survey asks the producers to provide data on their operating expenditures, production costs and household characteristics. The economic data gathered will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report on August 2, 2012.