Understanding American Agriculture Challenges for the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (2008) / Chapter Skim
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3 Survey Management
3 Survey Management
Pages 49-61
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From page 49... ...
or Congress. COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT Representing USDA in managing ARMS, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)
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From page 50... ...
The agency's primary interest and ownership is over the Phase III survey operations, in which ARMS collects basic economic data on income, expenses, and debt annually. The ARMS economic questionnaire supports an ERS program of data analysis on farmers' use of particular marketing channels and on management decisions and farm household well-being, including operator demographics.
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From page 51... ...
The full-time staff for ARMS is concentrated in the Resource and Rural Economics Division. 1 ERS funding for FY 2004 and FY 2005, includes $200,000 and $250,000, respectively, to fund collection of data on organic commodities -- in 2005 for Phase III organic dairy and, in 2006, for Phases II and III organic soybeans.
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From page 52... ...
TABLE 3-2 Division of Responsibility for ARMS by Function National Agricultural Key ARMS Functions Economic Research Service Statistics Service Resources Obtains base resources Obtains supplemental for program of statistical resources to provide to NASS methodology, survey for conducting survey and operations, and preparation of funding for organics research NASS publications. and internal ERS funding for analysis and dissemination program.
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Preparation of research Uses ARMS file to produce databases estimates of farm business and household income and balance sheets for release through briefing rooms and ARMS data tool; prepares ARMS research databases. ARMS data Participates in developing Develops and maintains ARMS dissemination tools ARMS data dissemination tools data dissemination tools.
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From page 54... ...
The economics section has responsibility to develop and implement specifications for all edit, summary, analysis, and estimation programs. • The sampling branch designs the list and area frame samples for each phase of the survey, develops sample weighting procedures, and provides assessments of the sample designs.
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From page 55... ...
The steering committee has proven to be very protective of ARMS in managing its respondent burden and survey content. MANAGING THE CHANGING FOCUS OF ARMS These budgeting and survey management coordinating mechanisms have worked well by ensuring a common approach by the two agencies during the gestation and maturing periods of the survey.
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From page 56... ...
and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) , which provides the sampling frame for the MEPS.
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However, the advisory board mechanism has not proven to be very effective in the case of ARMS. The official NASS Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics is an organized and active body, but it is mainly focused on the Census of Agriculture and its related programs.
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Recommendation 3.2: The NASS Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics should expand its scope to include an annual review of ARMS. Research and Development Every official statistics survey program that operates on a continual basis should have associated with it a methodology research and develop 2 Presentation by Bill McBride, Economic Research Service, January 18, 2007.
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From page 59... ...
Similarly, a need arose for easier implementation of the complex sample design into calculations of variance to use in tests of significance, and so the delete-a-group jackknife procedure was developed. An official statistics program should have an established time frame during which changes may be made to the sample and survey design, the questionnaire, the resulting editing and processing system, and the weighting, estimation, and other adjustment systems (such as statistical disclosure or seasonal adjustment)
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From page 60... ...
An additional option (and possible interim solution) might be for the current senior mathematical statisticians at NASS and senior economic researchers at ERS to be sent to the sister agency to sit with agency staff for several days in each pay period.
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From page 61... ...
Within each cycle, there is reason to hold the basic survey relatively constant, with changes permitted on an annual basis to add extra modules outside the core survey questionnaires or to enumerate follow-on surveys within the ARMS sampling frame. Thus, for example, inserting a question into the core set of questions should not be permitted within a given fiveyear cycle, except under extreme circumstances.
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