the grocery store and the gas pump: data that hit home usda-nass data dania ferguson, head,...
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The Grocery Store and the Gas Pump: Data that Hit Home
USDA-NASS DATADania Ferguson, Head,
Environmental and Economic Surveys Section
APDU Annual ConferenceFederal Data in a Time of Change
September 2008
NASS Reports
• Over 500 National reports published annually
• Over 9,000 State-level reports annually
• Census reports for each State, Nation, and outlying areas
What Does NASS Do?
• Administer USDA’s Statistical Estimating Program
• Conduct the 5-year Census of Agriculture
• Coordinate Federal/State agricultural statistical needs
• Provide statistical consulting for Federal/State governments, universities, and other countries
• Collect and summarize agricultural data under reimbursable agreements
• Conduct statistical research
What Doesn’t NASS Do?
• Set policy
• Regulate activities
• Permit influence
• Disclose individual reports
• Favor any group above others
• Estimate production for illegal crops
• Economic analysis
• Award grants
• Proprietary surveys (data summaries always made public)
NASS Programs• Commodity Statistics
• Economic Statistics
• Demographic Statistics
• Environmental Statistics
National Agricultural Statistics Service
• Production data on more than 120 crops and 40 livestock commodities
• Price, sale, expense data for $200 billion in agricultural products
• Environmental data related to 938 million acres
• Demographics on 3 million farm operators and 6.6 million household members
Annual statistics program and Census of Agriculture
Any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and
sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year.
Farm Definition
Data Sources For Official Statistics
• Sample Surveys• Census of
Agriculture• Administrative Data
• Imports/Exports•Slaughter•Crush •Millings• Inspections
Data Collection
• Producers
• Objective measurement
• Remote Sensing
Production of Agricultural Commodities Acres Intended
Planted - Intended for Harvest
Harvested
Yield Forecasted Yield, Final Yield
Production Forecasted ProductionFinal Production
Livestock, Inventory, Breeding Classes,Dairy & Poultry Market Classes, Births
Commodity Statistics Program
Supplies of Agricultural Commodities
• Grain, potatoes, onions, peanuts in storage
• Livestock and poultry slaughter
• Dairy products
• Egg production and products
• Meat/frozen food/dairy products in cold storage
• Cotton ginning
Commodity Statistics Program
• Irrigation - area, by crop
• Production expenditures - feeder livestock, feed, seed, fertilizers, chemicals, machinery, labor, etc.
• Number farm workers
Economic Statistics Program
• Prices received - monthly and seasonal average
• Prices paid• Prices received and paid indexes• Land values, cash rents• Grazing fees• Wage rates
Economic Statistics Program
Environmental Statistics Program
• Fertilizer Use • Chemical Use
– Field Crops– Fruit & Vegetables– Post Harvest– Livestock
• Production/Processing Practices
• Pest Management Practices
Demographic Statistics Program
Number of Farms By Kind of Farm, Sales, Income, Type of Operational Structure
Size of Farms Number of Acres, Livestock, by Size
Farm Operators Age, Race, Ethnicity, Sex
Farm Income By Size and Type
Production Practices Cropping Practices, Pest Management Animal Husbandry
Land Use Cropland, Pastureland, Woodland, etc.
Periodic Programs
• Agriculture Census – every 5 years• Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey • Census of Horticultural Specialties• Aquaculture Census• Agricultural Economics and Land
Ownership Survey
High Profile Uses of NASS Data
• U.S. principle economic indicators• Farm Bill counter-cyclical payments• Disaster payment determination• Group Risk policy payments and
premiums• Livestock compensation program• EPA risk analysis in re-registration of
chemicals• Levels the playing field for
commodity markets
Hurricane Impact Assessment
Importance - Economics
Fewer farmers - each farmer very important
less than 2% of farmers produce 50% of sales
less than 7% of farmers produce 75% of sales
How Many People Does a Farmer Feed?
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1940 1960 1980 Today
Sources: American Farm Bureau Federation, National Agricultural Statistics Service
Importance - Economics
Data used in the Economic Indicators
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Producer Price Index (PPI)
Prices Received by Agricultural Producers
January 2008 Producer Prices
Wheat $7.93 per bushel
Soybeans $9.96 per bushel
Corn $3.97 per bushel
Milk $20.50 per cwt
Beef Cattle $87.30 per cwt
Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS)integrates Chemical Use and
Economic data with Household data
ARMS data address concerns common to all agriculture
stakeholdersGoal: Farm profitability and environmental
stewardship
• Safety net – financial safety net and tools to manage risk
• Stewardship – rewards for protecting environment
• New markets – opportunities to encourage innovation and improved nutrition, food security, and energy independence.
• Research - technical assistance & strategic land use
How is ARMS used?ARMS is used to perform the following functions:
• Gather information about the relationships among agricultural production, resources, and the environment;
• Determine the costs to produce various crop and livestock commodities, and the relative importance of various production expense items;
• Help determine farmers’/ranchers’ net farm income and provide data on the financial situation of farm/ranch businesses, including debt levels;
• Help determine the characteristics and financial situations of farm/ranch operators and their households, including information on management strategies and off-farm income
Chemical Use Surveys
ARMS - Phase II collects field crop chemical use data
Nursery & Floriculture Chemical Use (Triennial)
Livestock Chemical Use
Suspended due to budget: - Fruit Chemical Use and Vegetable Chemical Use
- Postharvest Chemical Use
Chemical Usage Data Goals
Crop-specific Fertilizer and Pesticide Usage Statistics
Area Applied Number of Applications
Rate/Application Rate/Crop Year
Total Amount Applied
NASS Website – www.usda.gov
NASS Web Site – Quick Stats
• U.S., State, county database
• Historic data for most commodities
- Planted, harvested, yield, production, price, and value
• Data format options
http://www.nass.usda.gov/
