the data to implement USDA program requirements and to formulate and evaluate USDA polices and programs. The analytical program of ERS informs both public- and private-sector decision makers, through research and analysis on a wide variety of farm, farm household, environmental, and other rural issues, shedding light on important national issues like energy usage by supporting analysis of the impact of energy prices on farm production costs and, consequently, on the price of commodities.

As it begins a second decade of operation, improvements are needed in all aspects of the survey’s operations to keep it vital. ARMS is too valuable to the nation for the U.S. Department of Agriculture not to make efforts now to increase its value for the future.