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Farmers express frustration with accuracy of USDA crop estimates
Nebraska farmers were looking forward to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue’s appearance at a town hall event at the Nebraska State Fair on Friday. However his visit was cancelled at the last minute, apparently because of weather-related travel issues.
Perdue is likely to have faced some tough questions on trade and RFS waivers. But another source of frustration for farmers this summer has been USDA crop estimates. Many farmers think USDA has failed to account for lost acres and the lateness of the crop in many areas.
Travis Woollen farms near Alma, Nebraska.
“I think that’s definitely on a lot of peoples’ minds right now—questioning their modes and methods of doing things, and maybe even motives a little bit,” Woollen says.
He wonders if USDA’s data collection process needs updating.
“We have an awful lot of data available to get acres predicted, I think, more accurately than through surveys—and maybe we’re a little slow to adopt new technology in that area.”
Curt Rohrich of Wood River, Nebraska agrees with Woollen.
“Since we’re using them to trade our market, they need to be more accurate,” Rohrich says.
Nebraska Farm Bureau president Steve Nelson says they have expressed their concerns to the USDA. “We’re asking for clarification on just where those numbers came from,” Nelson says.
The Nebraska State Fair began it’s 10-day run on Friday.
Run and hide. My guess is, he is afraid to face real men. It is time to get answers as to how they can keep saying record or near record crop-even before it was planted, and stay with the same narrative after all the prevent plant acres as well as late planted acres.