United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS)

ARMS is the primary source of information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the public on a broad range of issues about U.S. agricultural resource use, costs, and farm sector financial conditions. The results of this survey are the only source of information available for objective evaluation of many critical issues related to agriculture and the rural economy. NASS conducts the survey in collaboration with the Economic Research Service (ERS).

Latest Releases

Both NASS and ERS analyze ARMS results and make various aspects of farm production practices available throughout the year. Below are the reports made available by NASS. To access ERS reports based on ARMS results, click here.

• 2015 ARMS – Farm Production Expenditure Highlights
• 2013 ARMS – Peanut Industry Highlights
• 2013 ARMS – Rice Industry Highlights
• 2012 ARMS - Soybean Industry Highlights
• 2011 ARMS - Broiler Industry Highlights
• Agricultural Chemical Usage - Field Crops
• Farm Production Expenditures

ARMS Uses

• Powerpoint presentation by James MacDonald, USDA Economic Research Service: Uses of Arms Data

ARMS Survey Data Collection Materials

NASS collects ARMS data in three separate phases throughout the year. Below are the questionnaires used in each of the phases.

Phase I

• 2016 Questionnaire

Phase II

• 2016 ARMS II – Corn Questionnaire
• 2016 ARMS II – Fall Potatoes Questionnaire

Phase III

• 2016 ARMS III General Questionnaire
• 2016 ARMS III Corn Costs and Returns Questionnaire
• 2016 ARMS III Dairy Costs and Returns Questionnaire

More Information

• To learn more about ARMS methodology, click here.
• An Overview of Calibration Weighting