How Can Crop and Livestock Reports Be Improved?

USDA is asking farmers and ranchers to help improve how federal crop and livestock data are collected, saying accurate reports are essential to fair and orderly markets.

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins recently announced that the Department has issued a Request for Information seeking public feedback on its statistical reporting methods. USDA reports on acreage, yields and inventories can significantly influence commodity prices, crop insurance guarantees and marketing decisions. Officials said declining survey participation, shifting planting patterns and increasingly volatile weather have made data collection more challenging.

“Ensuring farmers, ranchers, and other users of USDA data better understand the processes and methodology that go into producing these data and statistics is paramount to the integrity of these products,” said Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics Dr. Scott H. Hutchins. “The RFI published today is another example of how USDA is deploying a Farmers First approach to policy and will help inform future efforts to deliver data that is useful to our customers. We rely on farmers for their survey contributions, so this request will hopefully convey our sincerity to use their data in a transparent and objective manner.”

“USDA's data products have long been the gold standard in market reporting,” said USDA Chief Economist Dr. Justin Benavidez. “That doesn't mean we can’t make our products better. We’re looking for producer-driven input that can introduce more transparency and ease of access across USDA’s data outputs. We’re also looking for ways to review our own accuracy and take steps to make improvements where we can. If producers don’t believe in our products, we have work left to do.”

Farm groups and market analysts have raised concerns that outdated methods may not fully reflect conditions on the ground. USDA is seeking ideas to modernize tools, improve producer response rates and better communicate uncertainty in reports.

Officials said the goal is to ensure reports reflect real farm conditions without unnecessarily moving markets.

The RFI will be open for public comment for 45 days.

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