USDA to study corn production practices

Des Moines, Iowa — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in collaboration with the Economic Research Service (ERS) is conducting the 2014 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) which will focus on corn production practices.

“ARMS serves as the primary source of information on the use of crop protection chemicals, ensuring that the Environmental Protection Agency and other regulators use real-world data when making decision about the future availability of these products,” said Greg Thessen, director of the Iowa NASS Field Office. “The survey results help agricultural leaders and decision-makers better understand how producers cope with risk, adapt to policy changes, and make decisions about chemical use, new technologies and many other aspects of farming.”

In fact, the data reported in 2010 showed that “During 1996 – 2010, corn acres with excess phosphorus and nitrogen applied above the crop’s needs decreased by twelve percent, while yields increased,” added Thessen. The data collected from this survey will be your voice to show the current production practices used on farms.

Participation of producers is critical, so please take the time to complete an interview if you are contacted by your local NASS representative.

NASS interviewers will contact selected producers in October and November, hopefully allowing farmers enough time to complete the report at their convenience. NASS safeguards the privacy of all survey respondents and publishes only state and national-level data from this survey, ensuring that no individual operation or grower can be identified.

The results of the ARMS will be released on NASS’s website at www.nass.usda.gov/results on May 15, 2015. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, visit www.nass.usda.gov.