Agricultural Resource Management Survey Phase 3

Description

The Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's primary source of information on the production practices, resource use, and economic well-being of America’s farms and ranches. The results of this survey give farmers, ranchers, and many others factual insights into many aspects of farming, ranching, and conditions in agricultural communities.

Detailed Methodology

Sample

The target population for the ARMS is all agricultural establishments with more than $1,000 in agricultural sales (or potential sales). NASS uses a dual frame approach, consisting of list frame and area frame components, to provide complete coverage of this target population. There are multiple questionnaire versions in the ARMS 3. Each designated commodity for the production practices versions requires a separate sample. For the two farm production expenditure subsamples, target samples sizes by Farm Value of Sales (FVS) strata determine the probability of selection for each operation. For designated-commodity samples in the production practices versions, probabilities of selection are computed based on probability proportional to size (PPS) using crop acres or livestock inventory for the designated commodities. The United States list-frame sample size for the ARMS 3 is approximately 36,000. The area-frame sample size is approximately 2,000.

Method of Data Collection

Survey (self- or interviewer-administered)

Frequency of Data Collection

Annually

Reference Date

Last year/last 12 months

Number of Cases

Varies by year, appoximately 10,000 - 20,000 records

Number of Variables

Varies by year, approximately 2,000 variables