By Ryan Hanrahan
Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “USDA is asking farmers and other stakeholders to help examine how USDA can improve its data collection and analysis.”
“There are growing questions over whether errors in USDA statistics come from changes no one could have predicted or if there are systemic issues with USDA’s data collection and reporting,” Clayton reported. “Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced (last) Friday at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum that the department is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to examine USDA’s statistical data collection, analysis and research. The RFI posted Monday in the Federal Register.”
“In her speech, Rollins noted some of the goals of the Outlook Forum are to share USDA’s forecasts for the agricultural economy, commodity markets, trade and farm income,” Clayton reported. “‘None of these forecasts would be possible without the incredible work of the USDA economists and statisticians who collect and analyze this important data that has historically been considered the gold standard for market reporting,’ she said. Still, Rollins said there is room for improvement. Farmers around the country frequently question how numbers come together and what can be done to improve them.”
“‘We want to ensure at USDA that we are framing the status of the market, not driving price outcomes, and that will be a major effort over the next year,’ Rollins said,” according to Clayton’s reporting. “The RFI will include a 45-day comment period that will be used for feedback that USDA will discuss at its 2026 spring data users meeting on April 22 in Kansas City, Missouri.”
Source : illinois.edu