ARMS Brochure - Wheat

Wheat growers in the following states will
participate in the 2017 ARMS:
Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois,
Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.

Because Better Data =

Better Decisions
Results of the 2017 ARMS will help USDA
better analyze financial well-being, production
practices, and production costs of the U.S. wheat
sector. Below are some examples of findings
based on previous ARMS surveys for wheat:

The 2017 ARMS will be conducted in three
phases. Growers will be surveyed during the
following data collection periods:
ARMS I:

Survey screening
May - July 2017

ARMS II: Production practices and
costs survey
September – December 2017
ARMS III: Costs and returns survey
January - April 2018
For more information, visit us at:
www.nass.usda.gov/go/ARMS

The results of this survey will be available
in aggregate form only, ensuring that no
individual operation or producer can be
identified, as required by federal law.

ɵ Wheat prices above $7 per bushel at harvest
during 2011-13 fell to under $4 per bushel by
2016, resulting in much tighter margins for wheat
production. Operating margins (production
value less operating costs) for wheat fell from
a peak of $216 per acre in 2012 to around $100
per acre in both 2015 and 2016. Despite higher
average wheat yields in 2016, operating returns
per bushel of wheat were close to $5 in 2012, but
only about $2 in 2016.
ɵ Operating costs per acre of producing wheat
have fallen significantly over the past few years,
from above $125 per acre each year from 2012
through 2014, to $108 in 2016, a decline of about
14 percent. Lower fertilizer and fuel prices in
2016 accounted for most of the decline, with
fertilizer costs falling about $12 per acre and fuel
costs falling more than $8 per acre.
ɵ Total costs of wheat production increased each
year from 2009 to 2014, peaking at $316 per
acre, but then trended downward toward $300
in 2016. Since 2014, lower costs are primarily
due to the decline in operating costs, but land
costs have also declined. Wheat profitability has
fallen in response to lower wheat prices, lowering
rents on wheat land. Wheat prices improved
somewhat in 2017, but are still well below the
highs of 2011-13.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
September 2017

United States Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service

2017
Agricultural Resource
Management Survey

(ARMS)

WHEAT

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. This survey gives farmers a chance to tell the accurate
story of American farming to people in the United States and abroad.

Just about every federal policy and program that affects U.S. farmers and farm families
is based on information from ARMS.
In addition to measuring many key factors of U.S. agriculture as a whole, ARMS targets selected commodities on a rotating basis. The 2017 survey takes
a close look at the costs and returns, input use, and practices of wheat production. The 2017 ARMS will help USDA and others examine U.S. winter,
durum, and other spring wheat production practices and conduct research about input use, precision agriculture, production costs, farm finances, and
other topics important to wheat growers.
ɵ The 2017 ARMS wheat data will provide the basis
for monitoring and evaluating wheat production
costs and returns over the next several years. U.S.
wheat is produced at a much lower input cost
than the other large acreage crops. Despite higher
average wheat yields in 2016, operating returns per
bushel of wheat were only about $2, compared to
close to $5 in 2012.

ɵ The 2017 ARMS data will help evaluate the
impact of new crop insurance offerings for wheat
on farm production decisions and financial
outcomes. About 80 percent of wheat acreage
was covered by federal crop insurance, according
to the 2009 ARMS for wheat. The 2014 Farm Bill
expanded the range of crop insurance options
while eliminating several commodity support
programs.

ɵ Winter, durum, and other spring wheat will each
be surveyed in the 2017 ARMS. Winter wheat is
the most common type of wheat grown in the
United States, accounting for more than 70 percent
of wheat acres in 2017. However, winter wheat
acreage has fallen nearly 25 percent since 2013,
while the acreage of other wheat types has been
relatively stable.

ɵ 2017 ARMS data will show whether pesticidetreated winter wheat acreage has continued
to grow, along with fungicide use on all wheat
types. Pesticide use in wheat production varies
significantly by wheat type. ARMS data in the 2009
survey show that 63 percent of winter wheat acres
were treated with pesticides, while nearly all the
acreage of spring wheat types were treated.

ɵ The 2017 ARMS data will reveal whether
conservation tillage has continued to grow in wheat
production. Conservation tillage farming practices
increased for winter wheat during the previous
ARMS data period, 2004 to 2009. Tillage trips over
winter wheat fields fell more than 50 percent during
this period.

ɵ The 2017 ARMS will measure the extent to which
wheat producers have been adopting precision
farming technologies in recent years. In 2009,
over half of winter wheat acreage was farmed
using some type of precision farming technology,
with 36 percent using a yield monitor, 14 percent
a variable rate technology, and 35 percent a
guidance system. Recent ARMS data for other
crops show an increase in the use of precision
farming, particularly guidance systems.

ɵ The 2017 ARMS will take a closer look at
applying nitrogen fertilizer after planting on
wheat acres. Applying nitrogen fertilizer after
planting helps ensure that it is used by the crop
rather than being lost to surface or groundwater.
Over 90 percent of spring planted wheat received
nitrogen, compared with 83 percent of winter
wheat acreage as reported in the 2009 ARMS. In
2009, less than 10 percent of spring wheat and
only half of winter wheat had nitrogen applied
after planting.
ɵ Data from the 2017 ARMS will examine the
extent to which wheat producers are substituting
non-genetically modified herbicide-tolerant seed
varieties for homegrown seed, and their impact on
wheat yields and production costs. More than
60 percent of wheat seed planted by U.S.
producers was homegrown seed in 2009. Unlike
the other large acreage crops – corn, soybeans,
and cotton – genetically modified wheat seed is
not an option for producers.