by Ben Nuelle
National Agriculture Statistics Service Regional Director Greg Thessen says they are conducting the Agriculture Resource Management Survey which focuses on finances.
?That will provide information on farm finances hog producers are seeing. They have lower input costs than they?ve had in the last few years and we update that for different commodities once every five years. It?s been five years since we?ve talked to hog producers on that survey. It will provide and update not only on the cost of producing hogs but many other topics that are used by industry groups and politicians to make decisions about policies that affect pork producers,? Thessen says.
The results of the ARMS survey are the only source of information available for objective evaluation of many critical issues related to agriculture and the rural economy. NASS conducts the survey in collaboration with the Economic Research Service (ERS).
Theisen says NASS is also working on county estimates for corn and soybeans in Iowa.
?We?ve collected all of the data for that so we are not contacting any producers but we?re working through the numbers and we?ll provide the harvested acres, yield, and production for each county in Iowa. Those will be released February 18th,? Thessen says.
