Crop Production Practices
Documentation
Crop Production Practices is a data file based
on information collected through a series of annual
field-level commodity surveys. Also known as Phase
II of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey
(ARMS), this series is USDA's primary source
of information about the current status and trends
in crop production practices for several large-acreage
field crops. This survey also obtains data on
U.S. farmers' agricultural resource use, as well
as data to assess potential environmental impacts
associated with crop production practices. Crop
Production Practices data also supplement ERS's
Commodity Costs and Returns data.
Scope/Coverage
The ARMS survey annually collects field-level
information on chemicals and seeds, equipment,
previous crops, highly erodible land, irrigation,
and pest, nutrient, and crop residue management
practices. The Crop Production Practices data
can be summarized by crop, year, ERS Farm Resource
Region, irrigation system, previous crop, highly
erodible land, and tillage system.
Crop Production Practices provides customized
annual data summaries for several field crops
and production practice topics for production
years beginning in 1996 (years available differ
by commodity, see below).
Field Crops
• Corn (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005)
• Soybeans (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,
2002, 2006)
• Oats (2005)
• Spring, durum, and winter wheat (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004)
• Cotton (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003)
• Sorghum (2003)
• Barley for malt, barley for feed (2003)
• Peanuts (1999, 2004)
Topics
• Irrigation technology and water use
• Nutrient use and management
• Crop residue management and previous crop
• Pest management
• Pesticide use
• Seed use
• Tillage systems
• Manure management
Note: Production practices, technologies,
and inputs used by farmers vary widely by commodity
and region. Hence, data are not available to
summarize all of the above topics for each
commodity or region in the crop production
practices data.
Methodology
The ARMS survey is conducted in three phases over
the course of the survey year, which runs from
June through April.
- Phase I, conducted during the
summer of the reference year:
Farmers selected for inclusion in the survey
sample are screened to verify their operating
status and to determine whether they are producing
commodities targeted for data collection.
- Phase II, conducted in the
fall and winter of the reference year:
Randomly selected operating farms from Phase
I are interviewed to collect information on
their production practices and chemical use.
Phase II mirrors the former Cropping Practices
Survey. Phase II data are collected at the individual
field or production unit level.
- Phase III, conducted in the
spring of the year following the reference year:
A nationally representative sample of farmers
is interviewed to obtain information on their
costs and returns during the reference year.
Farmers that reported production practices for
specific commodities in Phase II are also contacted
to obtain information on their costs and returns,
including data needed to estimate the costs
of production associated with their production
practices. Phase III data are collected at the
whole farm level. Phase III replaces the former
Farm Costs and Returns Survey.
The time-series data presented in Crop Production
Practices were generated from the ARMS Phase II
sample data. Sampling weights provided by USDA's
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
were adjusted for each completed, usable sample
by its share of the estimated acres planted with
the target crop. A jackknife re-sampling process
was used with 15 additional weights from NASS
for each sample to estimate the Relative Standard
Error (RSE) for each data item.
Phase II data include information on the field
itself (such as the soil management practices,
previous crops, highly erodible designation, and
yield), size of the field, and the operator's
tenure, including rental arrangements. Seed type,
sowing rate, and cost are collected, as well as
information on the tillage equipment used on the
field. Amounts of fertilizer and methods of application
for the crop are recorded, including information
on how the nutrient management decisions are made.
Pesticide-management variables include the amount
and number of applications of each pesticide ingredient,
and the management information used to make that
determination. Additional information includes
irrigation water applications and timing, drying
costs and methods, and the use of crop insurance.
Additional crops, technologies, and practices
will be added to Crop Production Practices as
data are collected and processed.
For additional information on ARMS, see ARMS
Documentation.
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