FARGO, N.D., - Producers are being asked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service to participate in the upcoming Agricultural Resource Management Study, slated to be conducted in March and early April. This survey provides the leading economic indicators about the agricultural industry used by members of the ag community and their legislators when making important decisions that support American farmers and ranchers, according to an NASS press release.
Survey participants will be asked about operating costs, capital improvements, assets and agricultural debts, as well as farm-related income, off-farm income, government payments and operator and household characteristics, it says.
The data will be collated into usable information, in the form of reports, some of which can be very useful for producers, according to Mike Mathison, survey administrator for the NASS North Dakota field office.
"One very beneficial report is the Farm Production Expenditures Report," he says. The August "release date of this report is very good timing."
Most producers will be speaking with their landlords in September, and the ARMS expenditures report could be a valuable tool.
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"This report will give producers the data to go to their landlord and show expenses jumping to possibly help in negotiations," he says.
The survey is being conducted nationwide with randomly selected farm and ranch operators. It should take less than two hours to complete, he says.
"Depending on the individual operation and the degree of complexity, it should take about 105 minutes," Mathison says.
Surveyors will be calling to schedule survey appointments. Mathison strongly recommends having records available and organized when the surveyor arrives, in order to save time. Those who participate will be excused from participating in the 2007 Census of Agriculture.
