RALEIGH — A division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be collecting data from North Carolina farmers for use in three surveys related to chemical use, soybean production and row crops.
Interviewers from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS, will interview 145 North Carolina vegetable growers this fall in order to gather information for the Vegetable Chemical Use survey.
The survey will collect information on pesticides used, acres treated and rates applied to North Carolina cucumbers, bell peppers, pumpkins, squash and watermelon vegetable crops. In addition to North Carolina vegetable growers, 17 other states will also hear from NASS, as the agency collects comprehensive U.S. vegetable production practices information.
“Participation in the Vegetable Chemical Use Survey is vital to all participants in this key agricultural sector,” said Dee Webb, North Carolina State statistician. “Responses from vegetable growers will help ensure that chemicals critical to crop production remain available on the market.”
Survey results will be published online in NASS’s Quick Stats database in 2021. This database and all NASS reports are available on the agency’s website: nass.usda.gov.
Personnel from NASS also will gather information about production practices from soybean producers across North Carolina, as part of the 2020 Agricultural Resource Management Survey, or ARMS.
“ARMS is a vital survey that tracks how North Carolina farms use technology to manage production of their major field crops,” Webb said. “The results of this survey help policymakers and farm groups understand the factors driving the costs and returns of crop production.”
This year, NASS is reaching out to more than 4,000 soybean producers across the country. NASS representatives will conduct the survey starting in October, and recommends that soybean farmers have their fertilizer and pesticide spray records available to speed up the survey process. To protect the health and safety of producers, partners, and employees, NASS has suspended in-person data collection until further notice. Interviewers will be calling producers to help complete the survey.
The first phase screened participants to make sure they have the commodity of interest and would accurately represent the entire U.S. farm sector. In this current phase, NASS will collect information on production practices for soybean farming. In the final phase, NASS will survey producers on cost of production, farm income, and production expenditures.
For more information about the Agricultural Resource Management Survey, visit nass.usda.gov/go/arms.
Survey results and all NASS reports are available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications. For more information, call the NASS North Carolina Field Office at 919-707-3328.
Producers in 38 states, including North Carolina, will be contacted as part of its 2020 Row Crops County Agricultural Production survey. The survey will collect information on total acres planted and harvested and total yield and production of row crops down to the county level. Producers can complete their survey securely online at agcounts.usda.gov.
“The data provided by producers will help federal and state programs support the farmer,” Webb said. “We hope every producer who receives this survey will take the time to respond. Producers benefit when there are data available to help determine accurate loan rates, disaster payments, crop insurance price elections, and more. Without data, agencies such as USDA’s Risk Management Agency or Farm Service Agency may not have enough information on which to base their programs.”
Within the next few weeks, NASS representatives will contact selected North Carolina growers to arrange telephone interviews to complete the survey.
Survey results will be published on the NASS Quick Stats database quickstats.nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys, reports, and for the release dates by commodity, visit nass.usda.gov/Publications/Calendar/reports_by_date.php.
For more information, call the NASS North Carolina Field Office at 919-707-3328.
Information provided in all three data collection efforts is protected by federal law, which keeps respondent identity and answers confidential.
