For Immediate Release

January 9, 2013

ATHENS, GA Jan. 9, 2013— The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will spend the next several months gather production practices information from farmers and ranchers across the nation though the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). The results of this survey will serve as a baseline for numerous federal policies and programs that affect U.S. farms and farm families.

"It is hard to overestimate the impact the responses to ARMS can have since this survey is the primary tool for federal, state and local government representatives and all major farm sector stakeholders to gauge the financial condition of American farms and ranches," said Doug Kleweno, director of the NASS GA Field Office. "By reporting, Georgia farmers can ensure that they are accurately represented when it comes to decision-making."

NASS conducts ARMS jointly with USDA's Economic Research Service. In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, the federal agencies will reach out to nearly 33,000 producers nationwide, including 1,300 in Georgia, between February 1 and March 30. The survey asks producers to provide data on their operating expenditures, production costs and household characteristics.

"NASS is currently also conducting the mandatory Census of Agriculture, which occurs every five years," explained Kleweno. "To make it easier on these farmers, responding to ARMS fulfils the growers' 2012 Census of Agriculture obligations."

As with all NASS surveys, information proved by the respondents is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all responses, ensuring no individual respondent or operation can be identified.

The economic data gathered in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report on August 2, 2013. NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.

NASS provides accurate, timely, useful and objective statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. The agency invites you to express your thoughts and provide occasional feedback on our products and services by joining a data user community. To join, sign in at http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/subscriptions and look for "NASS Data User Community."

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.