Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Bt crops have insect-resistant traits.
Source: USDA, Economic Research Service using data from the 2010 Agricultural
Resource Management Survey (ARMS) Phase II corn survey.
Figure 6. Percentage of U.S. corn farmers who adopted Bt seeds in 2010.
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ARMS
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The Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), sponsored
by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the
Economic Research Service (ERS), has a multiphase, multi-frame,
stratified, probability-weighted design. In other words, farmers with
preselected characteristics are administered the ARMS each year. After
data collection, NASS generates probability weights to help ensure that the
ARMS sample accurately represents the population of U.S. famers.
The ARMS has three phases. Phase I, administered in the summer of
the survey year, verifies that all respondents operate a farm or plant a
specific crop. Phase II, administered in the fall or winter of the survey year,
is a field-level survey that collects data on production practices and input
use. Phase III, administered in the spring following the survey year, gathers
data on debt, revenue, operating costs, and expenditures for the entire farm.
Phase I and Phase III are annual surveys that are administered to all
respondents. Phase II is a commodity-specific survey that is administered
annually for a rotating selection of crops. For instance, the ARMS Phase II
Corn survey was administered in 2005 and 2010.
The Phase II Soybean survey was administered in 2006 and the cotton
survey was administered in 2007.
