By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA is asking growers to respond to two end-of-the-year surveys – the December Agricultural Survey and the County Agricultural Production Survey – which are critical to producers across the country, since the information will be used to measure final 2017 row crop production and grain stocks.

“We need producers to respond to NASS surveys, and respond accurately,” said Joseph Parsons, National Agricultural Statistics Service board chair. “Farm programs that are important to row crop producers rely on farmer-reported NASS data. When enough producers do not respond to the surveys, the NASS is not able to publish data.”

Parsons said the results of the surveys help determine the structure of 2017 farm payment and risk management programs administered by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Risk Management Agency (RMA).

“Without these data, the Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency may not have all of the information that is needed to base the programs that ultimately serve the row crop producers,” he said. “Producers can lose out when there are no data to determine accurate rates for loans, disaster payments, crop insurance price elections and more.”

The County Agricultural Production Survey that will go to 170,000 row crop producers began Nov. 3. Responses are due by Jan. 15, 2018, and NASS will publish county-level results for corn, soybeans, sunflowers and sorghum on Feb. 22 in the Quick Stats database. These county-level data are critical for USDA farm payment determinations, the USDA said.

The December Agricultural Survey will go to 84,000 producers, beginning Nov. 29. Responses are due by Dec. 21, and NASS will publish the results in the Crop Production 2017 Summary report on Jan. 12, 2018.

Information collected in this survey also feeds into the county estimates for row crops, the USDA said, where producers will also be asked about grain stocks stored on-farm.

“For farmers, there are a couple of important aspects to the surveys,” said Clarke McGrath, Iowa State University agronomist and on-farm research and extension coordinator for ISU’s Iowa Soybean Research Center.

On the government side of it, he said the information growers share is key in how the FSA and RMA put together farm payment and risk management programs – and how these programs develop over time, and respond to production and economic issues.

“They may not be perfect systems, but they are what we have right now, so we may as well share quality information from the farm level to put the FSA and RMA in the best position to succeed,” he said.

The other perspective McGrath sees from the farm side is the information gathered can be helpful in guiding cropping plans and marketing strategies. “Whether the individual grower uses the information on his own or not, almost all marketing advisors, brokers, marketing shows and news wires do use the information.”

Whatever information farmers do decide to sift through, he said the big picture is everyone in the agricultural community benefits if the information is used.

“In the long run, the markets seem to work when both buyers and sellers have unbiased information to assess and act in the free market system,” he said. “Buyers of farm commodities tend to have expert insight (their own staff or hired expertise) into stocks, acreage, production and other market drivers.

“Not all farmers have the same access to this type of expertise and information, so the NASS data is a good way to level the playing field.”

According to the USDA, when producers receive the surveys, they have the option to respond using the secure online questionnaire or return it by mail. NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified, the agency stated.