Keeping ARMS relevant: increasing its usability

Purpose – The Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) conducted annually by the USDA's Economic Research Service collects data on US agriculture, ranging from production practices to the financial condition of farm and ranch enterprises and the farm household. The purpose of this article is to consider what could make ARMS useful from a farmer's point of view. Design/methodology/approach – A Delphi method is used to gather input from a panel of experts. Findings – Results show that increasing the usability of the ARMS to agricultural producers involves expanding the content and relevance of the data collected. Specific types of data needed are identified. Also, recommendations are made concerning how the usefulness and relevance of the data could be increased by refining the sample frame. Finally, it is argued here that after making some adjustments to the ARMS sample frame to create nationally representative data, the ARMS project could serve as a hugely important basis for reporting economic performance levels for American agriculture. Originality/value – This study offers insights from agricultural finance experts on how the ARMS could be improved to expand the quality and usefulness of its output for both professionals and agricultural producers.