The Agricultural Resource Management Survey is the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
’s primary source of information on the
financial condition, production practices, resource use, and
economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
well-being of America's farm households. Sponsored jointly by the
Economic Research Service (ERS) and the
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), ARMS began in 1996, as a synthesis of the former USDA cropping practice, chemical use, and farm costs and returns surveys, which dated back to 1975. ARMS data underpin USDA's annual estimates of net farm income and fulfills a
congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
ional
mandate that USDA provide annual cost-of-production estimates for commodities covered under farm support legislation. ARMS also provides data regarding chemical use on field
crops required under
environmental
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
and food safety legislation.
Additional information about the survey and its uses at http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/arms-farm-financial-and-crop-production-practices.aspx#.U4xsHnZfZVA.
References
*{{CRS, article = Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition, url = http://ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/05jun/97-905.pdf, author= Jasper Womach
United States Department of Agriculture programs