F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 26 POTATO GROWER Farm Bill Payment Calculator Available For 2018 Cash Flow Estimates In late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) began gathering information about farm economics and production practices from farmers and ranchers across North Dakota, as the agency conducts the third and final phase of the 2017 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). "ARMS is the only survey program that allows anyone to clearly see the current financial well-being of North Dakota producers and their households as a whole," said Darin Jantzi, North Dakota State Statistician. "The results of this sur- vey will serve as a primary source of information for numerous local and federal policies and programs that affect North Dakota farms and farm families," NASS conducts ARMS jointly with USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS). In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, the federal agencies will reach out to more than 35,000 producers nationwide, including 807 in North Dakota, between late December and April. The survey asks producers to pro- vide in-depth data on their operat- ing expenditures, production prac- tices and household characteristics. "We realize that this survey is lengthy and some producers may have questions or need clarifica- tion," explained Jantzi. "In February, our interviewers will begin reaching out to those farmers who have not yet responded to answer any ques- tions they may have and help them fill out their questionnaires." In addition to accurate data, NASS is strongly committed to confidential- ity. The agency will only publish data in an aggregate form. This helps safeguard the confidentiality of all responses, ensuring no indi- vidual respondent or operation can be identified. The economic data gathered in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report on August 2, 2018. All NASS reports are available online at nass.usda.gov. ERS also plans to release a series of reports based on ARMS data. All of these reports will be available on the agency's site at ers.usda.gov. For more information about the 2017 Agricultural Resource Management Survey visit nass. usda.gov/go/ARMS. Potatoes USA Seed Export Program Underway for 2018 Efforts are underway to plant field trials of U.S. seed varieties in Myanmar, Morocco and Guatemala in early 2018. Potatoes USA pur- chases U.S. seed potatoes from U.S. growers in multiple states to pro- vide up to a dozen different varieties to each target market which are suitable for their warm climates and have high resistance to common potato diseases. Funding for these trials is primarily from USDA grants to promote U.S. agricultural exports to emerging markets. The first of the three shipments arrived in Myanmar in early December and will be planted dur- ing the second half of January 2018 in the main potato growing area of the Shan State. Potatoes USA Administrative Committee member Steve Streich is leading the delega- tion to help plant U.S. seed variety trial plots which are required for variety registration. Mr. Streich, a foundation seed grower in Kalispell, Montana, will also share valuable tips with Myanmar growers during his visit to the Southeast Asian nation. U.S. seed potato samples destined for Morocco are scheduled to be shipped in January 2018 and to Guatemala in March 2018. People, Product News