Data to Serve 21 st Century Agriculture: Expanding ARMS St. Louis, Mo. Dec. 4-5 ARMS Conference State Discussion

Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina How do you think ARMS data will be used in your state? Explanatory variables for state economy Policy impacts – commodity, resource, conservation Budget validation Practices and trends Who else in your state could use these data? Lending institutions, Farm Bureau, commodity organizations, cooperatives How can the people/groups identified above be encouraged to use ARMS data? End user data in query database, formal training on ARMS, newsletter

Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina What could ERS, NASS and your land grant university do to facilitate your use of ARMS data? Web access, sorting ability Please identify any existing (or potential) multi-state or multi-organizational activities in agriculture and the food system that could use ARMS data. Cost data on watershed basis, regional impacts of conservation, water use

Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina Please identify any ideas for encouraging farmers to participate in the ARMS survey. Engage respondents more – flyers, reports, results Tie survey results to report What questions do you still have? Mechanisms for sending out information? What if don’t have ARMS? Concern for potential void of data with alternative agriculture.

Texas How do you think ARMS data will be used in your state? Policy issues, Section 18, Texas Department of Agriculture, additional EQIP info (who participates, why, etc.) Who else in your state could use these data? Office of Rural Community Affairs How can the people/groups identified above be encouraged to use ARMS data? Give ‘em CEUs! Show usefulness for understanding rural economies

Texas What could ERS, NASS and your land grant university do to facilitate your use of ARMS data? Outside input on new questions Earlier outside input so that it is effective Principal operator off farm income Questions about spouse, new farmers, how farm got started What succession plans or opportunities did farmer have Please identify any ideas for encouraging farmers to participate in the ARMS survey. Pre survey letter, press release, work with county agent

Missouri How do you think ARMS data will be used in your state? ERS publications and website Validate representative farms for FAPRI Cost of production survey info Who else in your state could use these data? Production scientists (not just economists); Legislature; Environmental Groups How can the people/groups identified above be encouraged to use ARMS data? Have state statistician available to speak to AgEcon departments and other academic departments Credit ARMS in extension and producer group education Educate policy advocates (like Farm Bureau and lobbyists) to use ARMS

Missouri What could ERS, NASS and your land grant university do to facilitate your use of ARMS data? Emphasize and credit ARMS data in producer presentations Make state level data available locally and disaggregate by county or ERS typology region Keep the cost to request data low Please identify any existing (or potential) multi-state or multi-organizational activities in agriculture and the food system that could use ARMS data. Extension program leaders, technical service providers, ag industry council, crop scouts, industry consultants, poultry integrators (environmental issues)

Missouri Please identify any ideas for encouraging farmers to participate in the ARMS survey. Emphasize the connection between surveys and the results of these surveys. Send card explaining survey before contact Use FSA newsletters and NRCS What questions do you still have? How easy it is going to be to query and disaggregate state level data?

California, Washington How do you think ARMS data will be used in your state? Bankers, processors, policymakers, chemical companies, commodity commissions, educators, researchers Who else in your state could use these data? WTO (anti-dumping evidence), communications to public on agricultural issues, farmland preservation How can the people/groups identified above be encouraged to use ARMS data? Cookies, money, explain benefits, pesticide registration, show importance to state legislature

California, Washington Recommendations Change name to Food and Agriculture Resource Management Survey Obtain information needed by producers (number of buyers, value-added costs, distribution channels) Encourage costs statistics to include costs of implementing change Include commodities in Phase II of greatest importance to state.

Kansas, Nebraska How do you think ARMS data will be used in your state? Cross check for other data sets, research projects, extension projects focusing on regional issues, state farm income level modeling, state structural issues. Who else in your state could use these data? State agencies, legislature, commodity organizations How can the people/groups identified above be encouraged to use ARMS data? Education, show trends to ag groups PROBLEM – often get questions ARMS data can not answer

Kansas, Nebraska What could ERS, NASS and your land grant university do to facilitate your use of ARMS data? ERS participation on regional research projects, data access!, post information on website timely, more minor crops, increase NASS visibility Please identify any existing (or potential) multi-state or multi-organizational activities in agriculture and the food system that could use ARMS data. Regional research projects, Farm Record Association, farm organizations

Kansas, Nebraska Please identify any ideas for encouraging farmers to participate in the ARMS survey. Remain credible with all forecasts, show benefits to producers, data users and organizations must know what the data are. Make point that their data is important for representing their type of operation Pay producers Make clear that regulatory agencies do not have access to the data.

Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin How do you think ARMS data will be used in your state? Policy decisions to save family farm, extension education programs, bankers, rural development, legislature, farm credit institutions Who else in your state could use these data? Chamber of Commerce, agribusiness, economic development agencies How can the people/groups identified above be encouraged to use ARMS data? Usable form, state level/county level, education, responsible party in each state for education

Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin What could ERS, NASS and your land grant university do to facilitate your use of ARMS data? Informational update meetings, ERS/NASS visit, acknowledge data source, demonstrate data usefulness, indicate cost of data collection. Please identify any existing (or potential) multi-state or multi-organizational activities in agriculture and the food system that could use ARMS data. Annual Large Herd Seminars, production practices and profitability, Lewis/Clark water project, legislative conference, secretary of agriculture/commission of agriculture conference, Midwest governor conference

Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin Please identify any ideas for encouraging farmers to participate in the ARMS survey. Education on value of information, easy accessible data, acknowledge source of data, use commodity groups/farm organizations, well trained data collectors, PR, importance of data for farm programs, state competition What questions do you still have? Would Farm Foundation support an annual meeting with state representatives for an update?

Illinois, Indiana How do you think ARMS data will be used in your state? Describing farm organization membership Financial snapshots Who else in your state could use these data? Farm organizations, local government, medical community How can the people/groups identified above be encouraged to use ARMS data? More information on ARMS Publicity

Illinois, Indiana What could ERS, NASS and your land grant university do to facilitate your use of ARMS data? Publicity, ERS seminars at land grants, complete list of data. Please identify any existing (or potential) multi-state or multi-organizational activities in agriculture and the food system that could use ARMS data. National record keeping service. cross-state cooperatives.

Illinois, Indiana Please identify any ideas for encouraging farmers to participate in the ARMS survey. Success stories Publicity What questions do you still have? What happens without ARMS?