The American Farm Bur­eau Federation, in a new report, provides an in-depth examination into the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) survey collection and data reporting issues. The report also provides recommendations to improve ac­­curacy and farmer confidence in the survey results.

The USDA-NASS Working Group, comprised of 10 farmer members and co-chaired by Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill, spent more than four months evaluating the process and methodologies that USDA-NASS uses to put farmer survey data into monthly reports. 

“While NASS may have a gold standard reputation for agriculture...