HARRISBURG — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will gather information about farm economics and production practices from barley producers across Pennsylvania, as part of the 2019 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

“ARMS is a vital survey that tracks how Pennsylvania farms use technology to manage barley production,” said King Whetstone, director of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Northeastern Regional Field Office. “The survey helps policy maker and farm groups understand the factors driving costs of production and returns from crop production.”

The agency enumerators will conduct the survey in-person starting as early as Sept. 3 and recommend farmers have their fertilizer and pesticide spray records available. This year, the agency is reaching out to more than 1,500 barley producers, 2,000 cotton producers, 1,000 sorghum, and 3,000 wheat producers across the country.

In Pennsylvania, 150 barley producers will be surveyed.

The survey is conducted in three phases from May 2019 through April 2020. The first phase screened participants to make sure they had the commodity of interest and would accurately represent the entire United States farm sector.

In this phase, the agency will collect information on production practices and chemical use for the specific commodities mentioned above. In the final phase, producers will be surveyed on cost of production, farm income, and production expenditures.

Data provided by farmers is confidential and protected by law. The agency publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.

The survey is a joint effort of the National Agricultural Statistics Service and USDA’s Economic Research Service.

For more information about the 2019 Agricultural Resource Management Survey visit www.nass.usda.gov/go/arms.

Survey results are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications.

For more information, call the agency’s field office at 800-498-1518.