Information and Data Collection
The highly efficient U.S. agriculture sector is fueled by timely, accurate, and reliable information which supports agricultural commerce, policy decisions and allows targeted efforts to control and eradicate plant and animal pests and diseases. Effective agricultural policy should be based on accurate and objective data that describe the structure and operation of agricultural enterprises and measure their economic health. In addition, proper data are needed both to administer programs and measure their performance. These measures should allow policy makers to determine whether targeted producers are being reached and if their economic viability is being maintained. Data requirements need to be developed in parallel with policy.
NASDA strongly supports efforts to build program capacity within the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and its cooperative partners to expand initiatives to enhance the collection of needed information and to improve the quality of data. These initiatives take many forms, from producer surveys to within field measurements to using geographic information systems and remote sensing. Web-based data collection and dissemination systems are additional examples of efforts to provide quality data with less burden on providers and users of data. NASDA supports NASS initiatives to develop electronic data reporting systems and supports the NASS goal to electronically collect the information for the 2007 Census of Agriculture.
NASDA supports the strong federal-state partnerships afforded by the system of cooperative agreements between individual state departments of agriculture and the NASS. These cooperative agreements enhance efficiency and effectiveness by providing for both state and federal data needs with local input on the types of statistics that are most important to the nation’s agriculture. NASDA provides a nationwide staff of interviewers who are essential to collection of meaningful agricultural statistics. NASDA strongly endorses NASS efforts to support a highly trained, competitively paid corps of part-time enumerators who collect the data that form the foundation of the NASS census and survey programs.
The census of agriculture provides a complete picture of U.S. farms and ranches every five years. It is the most comprehensive source for county-level statistics that are especially critical in measuring changes over time at the local level. The census is the benchmark for U.S. agriculture and forms the basis for policy decisions related to agriculture and rural communities. It is essential that adequate resources be provided for conducting censuses of agriculture and for additional research to improve response, ease data reporting, and enhance data quality.
The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 encourages farm operators to diversify and add additional crops to their farm operation. NASDA emphasizes the need for more detailed county level information on livestock inventories and crop acreage, yield, and production in support of this Act. In particular, NASDA encourages expansion of cost of production data for specialty crops, which are collected as part of the annual NASS Agricultural Resources Management Survey (ARMS).
The Food Quality Protection Act emphasizes the need for reliable information about the volume and types of pesticides being applied to individual crops and what residues can be anticipated on these crops. USDA agricultural statistics and the Pesticide Data Program (PDP) play a valuable role in gathering pesticide use and dietary risk information. It is essential that funding for these programs continue. In order to ensure that current dietary habits are reflected accurately, a new food consumption survey should be conducted which will provide data to EPA as required by the FQPA. NASDA encourages Congress to appropriate the necessary funding to expand pesticide use data collection through statistically valid survey procedures for all pesticide uses supported through the pesticide registration and the FQPA process.
In addition, state agriculture programs need to gain access to U.S. Customs data on plant, animal and food entries to enhance ability to prevent introduction of harmful plant and animal pests and diseases. NASDA supports agriculture agencies gaining access to U.S. Customs data on animal, plant and food entries into their states to enable directed and preventive programs against plant and animal pests and diseases and better focus on food safety issues.