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The purpose of this article is to offer an introduction of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) for applied research in agricultural finance and farm management.

This article provides a brief overview of the history, design, use, and accessibility of the ARMS in government reporting and applied research.

The ARMS provides a number of unique advantages for addressing critical issues of the agricultural sector.

The paper provides an access point for researchers who are unfamiliar with the basic features of ARMS.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the characteristics of farms who participate in farm management associations to the wider population of farms at the state level.

Farm-level records obtained from the USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) are compared to similar data obtained from farm management associations in three states: Illinois, Kansas, and Kentucky.

Data collected through farm management associations tend to represent larger farms and a greater share of crop producers as compared to livestock producers. Association data, however, capture a greater share of younger farm operators.

This is the first study to compare farm statistics from several farm management associations to ARMS, and the study confirms the findings of existing studies of prior USDA surveys.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the trend of off-farm employment in rural China over the past four decades since the reform and opening-up.

Using two sets of panel survey data, the China National Rural Survey conducted in 2000 and 2008, and the China Rural Development Survey conducted in 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2016, this study offers a re-visit of China’s off-farm employment to give us the latest information about its evolution and whether rural labor markets have developed in a way that will allow them to facilitate the transformation of China’s economy more effectively. The evolution of off-farm employment is further examined through decomposition of types, destinations, industries, and population sub-groups as well as the change in the wage rate.

The data show the rapid increase in rural labor activities over the whole study period. Most notably, the authors findnd that a rapid rise in off-farm employment has continued even until after 2008 and into the mid-2010s, which is a time when some feared that macroeconomic conditions might keep rural residents on the farm or drive them back to the farm. In the disaggregation of labor market trends, the authors show that labor markets are acting consistently with an economy that is in transition from being dominated by agriculture to being dominated by other forms of production and with a population that is consistently becoming more urban.

The authors believe that the results will contribute positively to the exploration of answers to the question whether or not rural labor markets have developed in a way that will allow them to facilitate the transformation of China’s economy more effectively over the last four decades.

To identify periods of severe stress, and potentially take action to avoid or dampen their negative effects, lenders and policymakers need accurate and reliable data on US farm debt supply and credit needs. The purpose of this paper is to assess the current availability of information on US farm debt as well as its accuracy.

A review of the farm debt information and survey methodology of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

This manuscript examines several potential issues involving the debt and lender data within ARMS. First, the empirical results indicate that there is an informational break in ARMS beginning in 2000. Second, the paper presents evidence that the overall level of debt reported by USDA is not consistent with information reported by lenders for other regulatory sources. Finally, the paper proposes a modification of the debt question to improve the data collection.

The paper offers an external review of farm debt information in ARMS.

In the past decade, there has been a dramatic decline in agricultural employment in Bulgaria and several reports have pointed at supply chain modernisation and poor milk quality as the main reasons for the dramatic decline in the number of farms. However, to date the policy debate is been based on ad hoc claims, while there is relatively little micro-level evidence. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the determinants of structural change in the Bulgarian dairy sector in the period 2003-2009.

This paper analyses the determinants of structural change in the Bulgarian dairy sector in the period 2003-2009, using a unique panel survey of 296 farm households in the North and South Central Region of Bulgaria. In order to control for sample attrition bias, the authors use a two-step Heckman model of farm survival and growth model.

The data confirms the rapid outflow of agricultural labour from dairy farming activities: 55 per cent of the farm households supplying milk to a dairy company in 2003 stopped supplying in 2009. The main reasons for quitting are ageing of the household, health problems and an increase in off-farm employment alternatives and not supply chain modernisation and milk quality standards. The institutional innovations which are associated with integration in modern supply chains, such as the provision of farm assistance programmes, have a positive impact on small farms’ growth.

The study is one of the first to use panel data to analyse the impact of standards on the survival and growth of small farms in value chains. The authors analyse the determinants of farm survival and growth in the Bulgarian dairy sector in the period 2003-2009, using panel surveys of 296 dairy farm households in the North and South Central Region of Bulgaria and panel data from interviews with dairy companies. The findings are relevant beyond the Bulgarian dairy sector as supply chain modernisation and changes in quality regulations are taken place in many other transition and developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of falling commodity prices on farm debt usage of corn and soybean farms, and how this debt usage differs based on the financial leverage of the farm.

Using panel data on farms surveyed at least twice in the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) from 1996 to 2015, this paper uses a difference-in-differences approach to measure the effect of low commodity price shocks on financially vulnerable farms. To account for the correlation in the error structure between the three dependent variables (real estate debt, non-real estate debt, and interest payments) we use a seemingly unrelated regression approach.

Following a commodity price shock, financially vulnerable farms (debt-to-asset ratio greater than 40 percent) were found to increase their non-real estate debt when compared with non-financially vulnerable farms. Off-farm business income was found to help farms reduce real estate debt and interest payments in the face of these shocks.

Data consist of corn and soybean farms surveyed more than once in the ARMS from 1996 to 2015 and are not representative of all US farms, but have similar characteristics to US commercial farms.

The results indicate that financially vulnerable commercial crop farms respond to lower prices by taking on non-real estate debt, increasing financial stress. Well-targeted federal programs could prevent further financial stress for this group.

This is the first paper to use unbalanced panel data from ARMS to examine how farm debt use responds to commodity prices. This paper can inform policymakers about the financial risks to farms resulting from the current low-price environment.

Crop insurance and hedging are two risk management strategies used by farmers to manage risk. Using a discrete choice model and farm‐level data, this study investigates the factors influencing farmers’ use of hedging and crop insurance as risk management strategies. In the case of crop insurance, results indicate that level of education, participation in other risk management strategies (such as renting land, commodity programs, spreading sales over the year), and controlling debt are positively related to a farmer’s decision to purchase crop insurance. For the hedging model, results suggest education, off‐farm income, forward contracting sales of crops and livestock, and computer use are positively related to a farmer’s articipation in hedging/futures markets.

Organic outputs have been increasing at much lower rates than growth in consumer demand. Organic farmers’ debt aversion hinders them from obtaining business funds through borrowing. The purpose of this paper is to clarify that the farmers’ reluctance to use debt as a funding option can be more attributed to gaps in existing borrower-lender relationships, beyond sustainability principles.

Empirical evidence collected from organic farmers and farm lenders establish differing expectations and perceptions that reinforce the organic farmers’ debt aversion. The farm lender survey data set was analyzed using the Heckman approach applied to two lenders’ decisions: their interest in lending to organic farm borrowers and loan amounts approved for successful loan applicants. The econometric results were reconciled with the compiled inputs provided by organic farmers interviewed.

Results validate the farmers’ lower reliance on loans due to suspicions that lenders lack knowledge and consideration of organic farming conditions and principles. Farm lenders must depart from employing a uniform credit risk appraisal model and adopt borrower-specific versions of the model, but not necessarily delineating organic-conventional farming dichotomy that may not substantially affect credit risk measurement. Organic farms, on the other hand, need to better understand the credit risk appraisal principles and use their inherent business strengths to compete for loans with conventional farms without any special consideration.

Borrower-lender relationships can improve if information gaps between lenders and borrowers can be minimized with more extensive outreach education efforts. Better relationships would increase organic farms’ credit access to effectively address an impending supply gap in an expanding industry.

To the knowledge, a specific focus on organic farms in understanding farm borrower-lender relationships has never been explored in literature.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the feasibility of preparing a statement of owner equity (SOE) and statement of cash flows (SOCF) for the agricultural sector. Also, the use of the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) to collect data needed to supplement the US farm sector accounts to prepare a sector SOE and SOCF is discussed.

An SOE and SOCF for an individual producer was used to provide an example format for preparing an SOE and SOCF for the agricultural sector and to identify the data needed from the ARMS survey to supplement farm sector accounts.

The format and data needed to prepare a sector SOE and SOCF were identified and the feasibility of the collection of that data using current ERS/USDA survey collection methods would provide the data needed to prepare the statements. However, the use of two independent data collection authorities to collect the data would result in an agricultural sector SOE and SOCF that would not reconcile.

The paper initiates a dialog of possible alternatives available to the ERS/USDA and researchers concerning data needed and data sources available to prepare an agricultural sector SOE and SOCF, as well as the shortfalls and inaccuracies that would result.

The purpose is to understand how farmers in rural American communities perceive crime, safety and policing.

An online survey, adapted from a version used in Victoria, Australia (Harkness, 2017), was modified and administered through social media and farming organizations throughout three US states. The survey covers topics relating to crime and victimization, feelings of safety or fear in rural areas, policing practices and trust in police in their areas and any crime prevention practices that respondents use.

With nearly 1,200 respondents and four scales investigated, results indicate that those respondents with more favorable views of law enforcement and the criminal justice system had the highest fear of crime, those who had been prior victims of crime had a higher fear of crime than those who did not, those with higher community involvement had higher fear of crime, and those from Nebraska compared to Colorado had higher fear of crime.

A better understanding of the agricultural community’s perceptions of crime, safety and policing will aid law enforcement in community policing efforts and in farm crime investigation and prevention. Limitations of the study, including the distribution method will be discussed.

Farm- and agriculture-related crimes have serious financial and emotional consequences for producers and local economies. Stereotypes about rural areas being “safe with no crime” are still prevalent. Rural American farmers’ perceptions of crime, safety and police are largely absent from the literature and are important for improving farm crime prevention.