ARMS III - Publicity Material - Backgrounder

NASS Programs

Agricultural Resource Management
Survey (ARMS)

What is the Agricultural Resource Management Survey?
The Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) is an annual
USDA survey of farmers and ranchers to gather objective information on
the finances and production practices of U.S. farms and the
characteristics and economic well-being of farm households.

Why is ARMS Important?

It’s really about helping farmers:

ARMS Data is
Confidential by Law
All information NASS collects
in this survey will be kept
strictly confidential, as
required by federal law. The
results of this survey will
be available in aggregate
form only, ensuring that
no individual operation or
producer can be identified.

• ARMS is the primary source of financial well-being of the nation’s
farms and ranches and their households.
• Policymakers use financial information to evaluate impacts of
programs introduced in the Farm Bill.
• University extension services use ARMS data in cost of production
analysis and forecasting.
• The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis uses ARMS data to calculate the farm sector portion
of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

How USDA Collects Data:
We mail the survey forms in December 2020 to more than 30,000 producers and collect the data in the
following ways:
• Online – Producers can respond online at agcounts.usda.gov. Responding online is easy, costeffective and secure. To get started, all you need is your identification number, which is included on
your survey form.
• By mail or fax – Producers can fill out their paper survey and return it by mail or fax.
• Interviews - Respondents can be personally interviewed by a USDA enumerator by phone. A USDA
representative will contact producers who do not respond by January 18, 2021 to arrange for a
personal telephone interview.

Want to Know More?
We will publish the farm economic data in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report, to be released
in July 2021 online at nass.usda.gov. All ERS reports will be published online at ers.usda.gov/arms. You
can view highlights from ARMS surveys at nass.usda.gov/go/arms.
United States Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service

October 2020
www.nass.usda.gov