USDA Planting Survey Response Rate Low, Raising Concerns About Farmer Trust

By Carah Hart

Brownfield

The farmer response rate for USDA’s Prospective Plantings survey was the lowest it’s ever been for the March survey.

Seth Meyer, the director of the University of Missouri’s Food and Ag Policy Research Institute, says the farmer-USDA relationship needs a rebuild.

“This has got to be a partnership between the data gatherers and farmers.”

USDA says 37.6 percent of farmers responded to the survey for its latest report, compared to 44.3 percent last year.

Meyer, the former chief economist at the USDA, says accurate, unbiased data is important for farmers to understand what’s happening in agriculture.

“There are some big agribusinesses that will know what’s going on. This is a way to balance things out.”

In the report, the USDA listed farmer survey responses by day. Meyer says that’s likely to highlight planting decisions included in the March 31 report weren’t based on the rising input costs from the Iran conflict.

He also tells Brownfield USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service is trying to be as transparent as possible in data reporting.

Earlier this year, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA would become more accurate and transparent in its reporting following concerns about a gap in USDA’s 2025 corn acreage reporting, which confused and concerned some farmers.

A public comment period is expected to close soon, taking feedback on ways to improve the USDA’s data reporting. The findings of that feedback expected to be released later this month.