April 2017 NASDA Newsletter.pub
UMR NASDA NEWS Upper Midwest Region Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin
January 2017
Greg Thessen, Regional Director Although March is nearly over, it is a month that is eagerly anticipated for many reasons. It may be because daylight savings time begins, the first day of Spring occurs in March, students are eager for Spring break, sports fans gear up for March Madness (college basketball if you are not a sports fan) or it may be the celebration of St. Patrick’s day.
In addition to those events, I look forward to attending the Iowa Master Farmer Award Ceremony in March. This long standing event was started in 1926 by Wallaces Farmer Office staff dressed in green for St Patrick’s Day Magazine and honors several farmers each year as Master Farmers. The farm families recognized with the award tell their story about how they got started in agriculture, how they are involved in their community and farm organizations, how their operations have grown and what their current farm operation looks like today. Although these individual stories are all very interesting, each operation is usually different in size and in what crops or livestock they raise so you can’t draw a general conclusion about why they have all been so successful. Looking at the information provided by NASS from the work you are doing on the ARMS and other NASS surveys is really the best way to tell the current story of agriculture or farming. We not only use a representative sample and don’t just look at the best farms, but we aggregate the information from numerous farms in the sample to get input from all types of operators – from those that are very good operators like Master Farmers all the way down to those that are not so good. I know we have given many of you plenty of work to do over the past few months. This has been especially true in many areas of our Region where the ARMS III sample is heavier this year due to the focus on corn and dairy cost of production. You also had the normal workload for the March Ag Survey and Hog surveys. So, thank you for your hard work and commitment to getting the job done and for helping us tell the story of agriculture. Another March event that is eagerly anticipated by everyone involved in agriculture is the release of the NASS Prospective Plantings report on March 31st along with the Grain Stocks report. Many articles and interviews have been put out by private forecasters prognosticating about the 2017 acreage numbers. Most expect corn acres to decline and soybean acres to increase with both crops ending up close to one another at about 90 million acres each. The information provided in the NASS March reports will settle the debate and be critically important as the 2017 crop season gets underway. It is the teamwork between NASDA enumerators, NASDA supervisors, and NASS statisticians that makes this information as accurate and reliable as possible. As always, thanks for your efforts, keep up the good work, and be safe!
Heidi Woodstock, Wisconsin NASDA Coordinator We have jumped once again into the Spring season. A month ago, my tulips made their appearance as the temperatures were warm and the sun was plentiful. (They aren’t supposed to show up in February in Wisconsin!) Since I took a lot of time last fall to rearrange my bulbs in my flower patches, I was nervous about what would happen to them as snow and freezing temperatures returned to the weather forecast. As of today, they seem to be surviving, which is a good reminder to not worry about things we cannot control! I look forward to seeing what colors will show up in a few weeks. I also look forward to working with enumerators on the upcoming June Area and ACES surveys. Before we know it, we will be out working in potato, corn, and soybean fields! Stay safe and enjoy the beauty of Spring!
Steve Stockdale, Estimate Section March Madness? When most people hear that term, they think of the NCAA basketball tournament. In fact, March Madness may be a registered trademark of the NCAA. Hope I don’t get in trouble for using it; I do not have expressed written consent. Anyway, around the estimates section, March Madness can take on a different meaning. With 5 or 6 large surveys going on during March, work never seems to quite get done and everyone is at the end of their rope. Are you feeling the same way? As I am typing this, I actually completed the acreage estimates from the March Ag Surveys and sent them to DC. These will be released at the end of the month in our national Prospective Plantings publication. This is one of our most anticipated releases of the year as it is a first look at what farmers intend to plant. The main question this year seems to be: did farmers make a large shift from corn to soybeans? Be sure to look at the release to find out (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Calendar/ reports_by_date.php?month=03). As always, thanks for the great job you do collecting data. Our job is not possible without you.
NASDA Newsletter: July 2017 The next NASDA Newsletter will be published in July 2017. What exciting and innovative things are going on in your NASDA group? Are there unique crops in your area that you can share? Submit your items to your NASDA Coordinator by Friday, June 16 to be included in the next newsletter.
UPCOMING SURVEYS June Area The June Area survey is one of the largest annual NASS survey projects. The data collected are used to supply direct estimates of acreage and measures of sampling coverage. The June Area survey utilizes an area sampling frame consisting of all land in a state, divided into segments. In our region, there are approximately 1,000 segments for data collection. All farm operators operating within the boundaries of the selected segments are interviewed. Data collection occurs in early June. Agricultural Classification Evaluation Survey (ACES) ACES is very similar to June Area in that it utilizes a land-based sampling frame. It is conducted every 5 years, just ahead of the Census of Agriculture. The information is used to improve farm counts for specialty commodities and minority operators. There are approximately 150 ACES segments in our region. Data collection will be mid-May to late-June. Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) ARMS is the primary source of information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the public on a broad range of issues about U.S. agricultural resource use, costs, and farm sector financial conditions. The target commodities this coming year will be soybeans for all states in our region and wheat, only in MN. Phase 1 will be conducted from May – July and is used as a screening for the target commodities. Phases 2 and 3 data will be collected this fall and next winter, respectively, based on complete reports from Phase 1. Objective Yield (OY) The Objective Yield (OY) surveys provide data for monthly yield forecasts beginning in August through harvest. Our region is involved in OY program for 3 crops: Corn, Soybeans, and Potatoes. There are just over 600 corn samples in all 3 states for our region, approximately 300 soybean samples in Iowa and Minnesota, and just under 300 potato samples in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
UPCOMING TRAINING IOWA
MINNESOTA
WISCONSIN
Mid-year: May 16-18 Johnston
Mid-year: May 9-11 St Cloud
Mid-year: May 16—18 Deforest
Objective Yield Training: Corn and Soybeans July 11-12
Objective Yield Training: Corn and Soybeans Mini-schools
Objective Yield Training: Corn and Soybeans Mini-schools
NASDA Spot Awards Congratulations to the NASDA staff listed below that received a Spot Award during January through March! THANK YOU for all of your hard work! IA: Bob J acobsen, Bar bar a Moore, Ron Sanson MN: DiAnne Dingmann, Odean J ohnson, Lar r y Luepke WI: Steve Pr issel
Welcome Iowa
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Bill Beckman Elmer Heitz John Jacobs Robert Klingborg James Nurse Rhonda Pankau Penny Perkins Evan Rodger
Sally Berg Sandra Guth Angela Schultze Herman Transburg Jason Witt
Roger Cockrum Marie Gaupner John Jens Kenneth Matyas Scott Zenz
Tony Dahlman is joining the Upper Midwest Regional Field Office as a group leader in the Surveys Section on April 3rd. He is coming to Iowa from Headquarters in DC where he has had assignments in Survey Development and Support, Survey Administration, and Crops Branch. Most recently he served as the national soybeans and oats statistician. He started his NASS career as an intern in the Minnesota Field Office before accepting a full time position in the South Dakota Field Office in 2002. Tony is excited to be back in the Midwest closer to his parents and the seed corn and soybean operation he grew up on in central Minnesota. His wife, Karla Koudelka (also a NASS employee), is a native Iowan so he has had to tone down telling Iowa jokes long before he found out he would be moving to Des Moines. He keeps busy with running, public speaking, going to county and state fairs, and rooting on his beloved Minnesota sports teams such as the Gophers and Twins.
GET TO KNOW YOUR iPAD!!
In the odd years of June Area data collection, operators are asked about their computer use. The steps below will direct you to NASS’ publication of the Computer Use data collected in the June Area Survey. 1) From the iPad home screen, tap on the NASS (or NASS-Publications) icon. 2) Click on the arrow next to Publications, then select by Date (Reports Calendar)
3) Tap on August 4) Scroll down to August 18 and tap on Farm Computer Usage and Ownership 5) Under Latest Releases, tap on PDF
January 2017
Greg Thessen, Regional Director Although March is nearly over, it is a month that is eagerly anticipated for many reasons. It may be because daylight savings time begins, the first day of Spring occurs in March, students are eager for Spring break, sports fans gear up for March Madness (college basketball if you are not a sports fan) or it may be the celebration of St. Patrick’s day.
In addition to those events, I look forward to attending the Iowa Master Farmer Award Ceremony in March. This long standing event was started in 1926 by Wallaces Farmer Office staff dressed in green for St Patrick’s Day Magazine and honors several farmers each year as Master Farmers. The farm families recognized with the award tell their story about how they got started in agriculture, how they are involved in their community and farm organizations, how their operations have grown and what their current farm operation looks like today. Although these individual stories are all very interesting, each operation is usually different in size and in what crops or livestock they raise so you can’t draw a general conclusion about why they have all been so successful. Looking at the information provided by NASS from the work you are doing on the ARMS and other NASS surveys is really the best way to tell the current story of agriculture or farming. We not only use a representative sample and don’t just look at the best farms, but we aggregate the information from numerous farms in the sample to get input from all types of operators – from those that are very good operators like Master Farmers all the way down to those that are not so good. I know we have given many of you plenty of work to do over the past few months. This has been especially true in many areas of our Region where the ARMS III sample is heavier this year due to the focus on corn and dairy cost of production. You also had the normal workload for the March Ag Survey and Hog surveys. So, thank you for your hard work and commitment to getting the job done and for helping us tell the story of agriculture. Another March event that is eagerly anticipated by everyone involved in agriculture is the release of the NASS Prospective Plantings report on March 31st along with the Grain Stocks report. Many articles and interviews have been put out by private forecasters prognosticating about the 2017 acreage numbers. Most expect corn acres to decline and soybean acres to increase with both crops ending up close to one another at about 90 million acres each. The information provided in the NASS March reports will settle the debate and be critically important as the 2017 crop season gets underway. It is the teamwork between NASDA enumerators, NASDA supervisors, and NASS statisticians that makes this information as accurate and reliable as possible. As always, thanks for your efforts, keep up the good work, and be safe!
Heidi Woodstock, Wisconsin NASDA Coordinator We have jumped once again into the Spring season. A month ago, my tulips made their appearance as the temperatures were warm and the sun was plentiful. (They aren’t supposed to show up in February in Wisconsin!) Since I took a lot of time last fall to rearrange my bulbs in my flower patches, I was nervous about what would happen to them as snow and freezing temperatures returned to the weather forecast. As of today, they seem to be surviving, which is a good reminder to not worry about things we cannot control! I look forward to seeing what colors will show up in a few weeks. I also look forward to working with enumerators on the upcoming June Area and ACES surveys. Before we know it, we will be out working in potato, corn, and soybean fields! Stay safe and enjoy the beauty of Spring!
Steve Stockdale, Estimate Section March Madness? When most people hear that term, they think of the NCAA basketball tournament. In fact, March Madness may be a registered trademark of the NCAA. Hope I don’t get in trouble for using it; I do not have expressed written consent. Anyway, around the estimates section, March Madness can take on a different meaning. With 5 or 6 large surveys going on during March, work never seems to quite get done and everyone is at the end of their rope. Are you feeling the same way? As I am typing this, I actually completed the acreage estimates from the March Ag Surveys and sent them to DC. These will be released at the end of the month in our national Prospective Plantings publication. This is one of our most anticipated releases of the year as it is a first look at what farmers intend to plant. The main question this year seems to be: did farmers make a large shift from corn to soybeans? Be sure to look at the release to find out (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Calendar/ reports_by_date.php?month=03). As always, thanks for the great job you do collecting data. Our job is not possible without you.
NASDA Newsletter: July 2017 The next NASDA Newsletter will be published in July 2017. What exciting and innovative things are going on in your NASDA group? Are there unique crops in your area that you can share? Submit your items to your NASDA Coordinator by Friday, June 16 to be included in the next newsletter.
UPCOMING SURVEYS June Area The June Area survey is one of the largest annual NASS survey projects. The data collected are used to supply direct estimates of acreage and measures of sampling coverage. The June Area survey utilizes an area sampling frame consisting of all land in a state, divided into segments. In our region, there are approximately 1,000 segments for data collection. All farm operators operating within the boundaries of the selected segments are interviewed. Data collection occurs in early June. Agricultural Classification Evaluation Survey (ACES) ACES is very similar to June Area in that it utilizes a land-based sampling frame. It is conducted every 5 years, just ahead of the Census of Agriculture. The information is used to improve farm counts for specialty commodities and minority operators. There are approximately 150 ACES segments in our region. Data collection will be mid-May to late-June. Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) ARMS is the primary source of information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the public on a broad range of issues about U.S. agricultural resource use, costs, and farm sector financial conditions. The target commodities this coming year will be soybeans for all states in our region and wheat, only in MN. Phase 1 will be conducted from May – July and is used as a screening for the target commodities. Phases 2 and 3 data will be collected this fall and next winter, respectively, based on complete reports from Phase 1. Objective Yield (OY) The Objective Yield (OY) surveys provide data for monthly yield forecasts beginning in August through harvest. Our region is involved in OY program for 3 crops: Corn, Soybeans, and Potatoes. There are just over 600 corn samples in all 3 states for our region, approximately 300 soybean samples in Iowa and Minnesota, and just under 300 potato samples in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
UPCOMING TRAINING IOWA
MINNESOTA
WISCONSIN
Mid-year: May 16-18 Johnston
Mid-year: May 9-11 St Cloud
Mid-year: May 16—18 Deforest
Objective Yield Training: Corn and Soybeans July 11-12
Objective Yield Training: Corn and Soybeans Mini-schools
Objective Yield Training: Corn and Soybeans Mini-schools
NASDA Spot Awards Congratulations to the NASDA staff listed below that received a Spot Award during January through March! THANK YOU for all of your hard work! IA: Bob J acobsen, Bar bar a Moore, Ron Sanson MN: DiAnne Dingmann, Odean J ohnson, Lar r y Luepke WI: Steve Pr issel
Welcome Iowa
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Bill Beckman Elmer Heitz John Jacobs Robert Klingborg James Nurse Rhonda Pankau Penny Perkins Evan Rodger
Sally Berg Sandra Guth Angela Schultze Herman Transburg Jason Witt
Roger Cockrum Marie Gaupner John Jens Kenneth Matyas Scott Zenz
Tony Dahlman is joining the Upper Midwest Regional Field Office as a group leader in the Surveys Section on April 3rd. He is coming to Iowa from Headquarters in DC where he has had assignments in Survey Development and Support, Survey Administration, and Crops Branch. Most recently he served as the national soybeans and oats statistician. He started his NASS career as an intern in the Minnesota Field Office before accepting a full time position in the South Dakota Field Office in 2002. Tony is excited to be back in the Midwest closer to his parents and the seed corn and soybean operation he grew up on in central Minnesota. His wife, Karla Koudelka (also a NASS employee), is a native Iowan so he has had to tone down telling Iowa jokes long before he found out he would be moving to Des Moines. He keeps busy with running, public speaking, going to county and state fairs, and rooting on his beloved Minnesota sports teams such as the Gophers and Twins.
GET TO KNOW YOUR iPAD!!
In the odd years of June Area data collection, operators are asked about their computer use. The steps below will direct you to NASS’ publication of the Computer Use data collected in the June Area Survey. 1) From the iPad home screen, tap on the NASS (or NASS-Publications) icon. 2) Click on the arrow next to Publications, then select by Date (Reports Calendar)
3) Tap on August 4) Scroll down to August 18 and tap on Farm Computer Usage and Ownership 5) Under Latest Releases, tap on PDF
