Utah Supervisor Retreat & Crops/Stock Survey Work (Salt Lake City, UT) September 12-13, 2011

NASDA’s NASS Program Director Charlie Ingram visited the Utah NASS Field Office in Salt Lake City on September 12-13, 2011. It was a productive and busy 2 days which included management meetings with the NASS team and NASDA Supervisors. Charlie also spent a day working in the field with one of the NASDA enumerators on the Crops/Stocks Onion Survey.

The first day began with a Supervisory Retreat and management meeting. The NASS staff who participated included: Director John Hilton, Deputy Kerry McBride, NASDA Coordinator Rebecca Baillie, and Administrative Technician Michele Burger. In Utah, there are two NASDA Field Supervisors—Debra McArthur and Howard Thomas who oversee 14 enumerators. Office Supervisor Joyce Manchego manages a staff of 8 phone enumerators.

NASDA Field Supervisors Debra McArthur, Howard Thomas and Office Supervisor Joyce Manchego. Joyce has 28 years experience working for NASDA. 
 

NASDA Coordinator Rebecca Baillie and Admin Tech Michele Burger

The geography and size of the state is a challenge for the NASDA and NASS teams since there is a lot of territory to cover in their efforts to collect agricultural data. They are often required to drive long distances because Utah’s agriculture is primarily nestled in mountain valleys. Cultivated crops are grown at elevations from 7,000 feet to just under 3,000 feet. Nearly 1.2 million acres of crops, excluding range and pasture, are harvested each year from the 11 million acres in farms and ranches. Federal and State owned lands account for about 75 percent of the state’s total land mass. In addition to recreation, this land provides grazing needed for cattle and sheep industries.
The Supervisor Workshop was very productive. Some of the topics discussed were: best management practices, hiring and retention of enumerators, personnel evaluations, timesheets, workloads, and training. The group also discussed strategies to improve communications, hiring and response rates with Native Americans and Tribal Nations.

Crops/Stocks Survey Work

On September 13, Charlie drove to the Ogden/Layton area (about 1.5 hours north of Salt Lake City) to meet NASDA Field Enumerator Christa Young and to collect data for the Crops/Stocks Onion Survey. It was a great “hands-on” experience to learn first-hand how NASDA enumerators conduct their important survey field work for NASS. Christa does a great job and has been a NASDA Enumerator for 6 years. Her father is also a Field Enumerator. 

Field Enumerator Christa Young

The Crops/Stocks surveys provide detailed estimates of crop acreage, yields and production. The surveys are conducted in all states quarterly and commodities are collected according to their growing season. Enumerators conduct personal interviews with agricultural producers to collect the data.
When we visited the first farm operation, the producer was not home. Charlie left a “door hanger” at the residence with enumerator contact information and a brief explanation about the survey.  

Charlie leaves survey information at the farm operation

Our next farm visits were more successful—we completed 3 surveys with producers! We also visited 2 producers who did not want to complete the survey, although we explained why the survey data is important and how it benefits all producers. NASS surveys are voluntary but sometimes the producer simply doesn’t want to complete them. NASDA enumerators and the NASS Field Offices work hard to educate agricultural producers and the public about how the data is used. For example, farmers and businesses use the production estimates for marketing decisions, to evaluate expected prices, and to determine when to sell. USDA production forecasts are used to anticipate loan receipts and pricing of loan stocks. Production forecasts are greatly relied upon by the transportation sector, warehouse and storage companies, banks and other lending institutions, commodity traders, and processors. In addition

Charlie returns completed surveys to Rebecca Baillie at the NASS Field Office

From September 14-19, Charlie remained in Salt Lake City for the NASDA Annual Meeting hosted by Utah Agriculture Commissioner and NASDA President Leonard Blackham. NASS Administrator Dr. Cynthia Clark addressed the group during the plenary session. Utah FO Director John Hilton and Deputy Kerry McBride also participated in the meeting. 

Utah FO Director John Hilton, NASS Administrator Cynthia Clark and NASDA President Leonard Blackham at the Annual Meeting