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Source: USDA, 12/6/21
Beginning
in late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) will spend several months gathering information about
farm economics and production practices from farmers and ranchers across NC, as
the agency conducts the third and final phase of the 2021 Agricultural Resource
Management Survey (ARMS). To protect the health of producers, partners, and
employees, NASS is unable to work with you in person to complete this survey. “ARMS is the only survey that measures the current financial well-being of NC producers and their households as a whole,” said Dee Webb, NC Field Office Statistician. “The results of this survey will help inform decisions on local and federal policies and programs that affect NC farms and farm families.” In an effort to obtain the most
accurate data, NASS will reach out to more than 30,000 producers nationwide,
including 1,400 in NC between January and March. The
survey asks producers to provide in-depth information about their operating
revenues, production costs, and household characteristics. The 2021 ARMS survey
includes a version of the questionnaire focused on farm costs and returns for
standard and organic dairy, corn, and rice. This year the survey also includes
questions to help measure any impacts of COVID-19 on farms, farm and household
finances, and off-farm employment. “In February, our interviewers will begin reaching out to those farmers who have not yet responded,” said Webb “We appreciate their time and are here to help them with the questionnaire so that their information will continue supporting sound agricultural decision-making.” In addition to producing
accurate information, NASS has strong safeguards in place to protect the
confidentiality of all farmers who respond to its surveys. The agency will only publish data
in an aggregate form, ensuring the confidentiality of all responses
and that no individual respondent or operation can be identified. The expense data gathered in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report
on July 29, 2022. That report and others are available at nass.usda.gov/Publications. More reports based on ARMS data and more information about ARMS
are available at ers.usda.gov/arms.
As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is kept
confidential, as required by federal law. Used for statistical purposes only,
the information is not published in identifiable form. All NASS reports are
available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications/. For more information, call
the NASS NC Field Office at 919-707-3333.
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