What is ARMS?
and
What Does it Mean to You?
Kitty Smith
Director, Resource Economics Division
Economic Research Service, USDA
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• What is ARMS?
– The only annual, national-level,
representative survey of U.S. farm
operations and households
– USDA’s main source of knowledge about
the financial condition, production
practices, resource use, and economic
well being of farm households
• ARMS’ Origins
–A combination of three surveys
formerly conducted separately:
• Farm Costs and Returns
• Cropping Practices
• Agricultural Chemical Use
–Merged in 1996 as ARMS
• Why are ARMS data collected?
– ARMS is the only and/or the best
source of various information that
USDA is mandated to provide.
– ARMS provides an incredibly rich
basis for characterizing farming and
farm households, and for analyzing
the implications of actions or events
for farms and farming stakeholders.
ARMS data can be used to answer, for
example:
• How will rising energy costs affect the U.S.
farm financial situation?
• In what ways are Northeastern dairy
farms/farmers the same as/different from
Western dairy farms/ farmers?
• Are small farmers or large farmers more
likely to adopt conservation practices?
• How are the benefits of adoption of
genetically engineered seed distributed
among different stakeholders?
• How prevalent is contracting, and who
participates in contract arrangements for
production or marketing of particular
livestock commodities?
• How important is the farming business to the
well-being of farm households?
• ARMS is a USDA survey
– ERS provides direct funding for the
conduct of ARMS; NASS funds
supplement
– ERS and NASS collaborate on the content
and design of ARMS questionnaires
– NASS designs and draws the survey
sample based on both ERS and NASS
priorities for coverage and statistical
reliability
– NASS handles survey enumeration
– ERS develops financial statements and
other summary data from the raw data, and
provides a public use data set.
– ERS posts data summaries on its Web site
– Everyone in each USDA agency takes
responsibility for activities that guarantee
the confidentiality of individual responses.
ARMS is a USDA survey…
…But ARMS data and
information are public
goods.
• How will rising energy costs affect the farm
financial situation in my state??
• In what ways are Wisconsin dairy
farms/farmers the same as/different from
California dairy farms/ farmers, and what
does this imply for State-level positions on
dairy policy proposals?
• How can Extension services in my State
target those farms with characteristics that
make them more/less likely to adopt
conservation practices?
• How are the benefits of adopting genetically
engineered seed being distributed among
farmers, landowners, and agricultural input
firms in my State?
• How prevalent is contracting in my State, and
who participates in various kinds of
contracting arrangements in my State?
• How important is the farming business to the
well-being of farm households in my State,
and what does this imply for rural
development needs?