Economic Data; Information and Data Collection

Economic Data; Information and Data Collection—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. Proper data are needed both to administer programs and measure their performance. Data requirements need to be developed in parallel with policy. There should be better cooperation among USDA agencies on survey information and collection.

NASDA supports National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) initiatives to develop electronic data reporting systems. 

NASDA also supports strong federal-state partnerships between individual state departments of agriculture and the NASS. 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.

NASDA strongly supports providing adequate resources for conducting censuses of agriculture and for additional research to improve response, ease data reporting, and enhance data quality. 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).

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.

NASDA recommends that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection provide individual states with data on plant, animal and food entries into states to enhance states’ ability to prevent introduction of harmful plant and animal pests and diseases.