| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Peggy Stringer |
| October 7, 2004 | (406) 441-1240
TTY (406) 444-4687 |
Survey to Target Wheat Growing Practices, Drought Response
HELENA, Mont. — The success of cropping practices adopted in response to drought will be among the information sought when the USDA's Montana Agricultural Statistics Service contacts selected farmers for a detailed survey during the next few weeks.
"Drought has had a huge impact on agricultural producers and they have had to make difficult decisions during the past six years. We're hoping for good participation in this survey to help policy makers, extensionists and agronomists learn more about recent cropping changes and practices," says Ralph Peck, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture.
The Montana Agricultural Statistics Service intends to conduct detailed interviews with 375 producers selected to represent Montana's 28,000 farm operations. Nationwide, the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) will involve 6,500 farms to answer questions for the survey, says Peggy Stringer, director of the Montana Agricultural Statistics Service.
Specific commodities are rotated every five to six years to focus on resource use and production costs. Wheat is the topic of the ARMS survey this year, and the information should prove useful in several ways, Stringer says.
- Pest control and fertilizer use questions will help officials involved in the registration of products needed for wheat production in the various grain growing regions of the country.
- Chemical usage and residue data are used to lessen concerns relating to the marketing and exporting of grain crops.
- Trends involving machinery, cropping practices and technologies help researchers and extensionists to recommend strategies that keep U.S. agriculture competitive in world markets.
- Questions regarding crop yields and management responses to drought might be particularly useful to agronomists and extensionists in Plains regions affected by multiple years of drought.
Producers selected to participate in the survey will be notified by letter, Stringer says. Interviewers representing the Montana Agricultural Statistics Service will then visit them, at the farm operator's convenience, to complete the ARMS survey.
Interviewers intend to complete the surveys by mid-November.
The Agricultural Statistics Service also has started work on another survey known as the Conservation Effects Assessment Survey. This survey deals with conservation practices, including responses to federal programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Preserve Program and the new Conservation Security Program.
Results of both surveys will be published in 2005. For more information, contact the Montana Agricultural Statistics Service at 406-441-1240.
