Data Requirements in Agricultural Administration and Research

Abstract

IT STRIKES me that this subject of data requirements in agricultural administration and research could be treated broadly or briefly. Of necessity, I must treat it briefly. Yet, I hasten to add that my treatment is not likely to do the subject justice, for much could be said and written to improve the understanding and appreciation of the ever-growing need of administrators, research workers, and others for more timely, more detailed, and more reliable facts and figures. During the past 18 years as an agricultural statistician and an extension specialist in agricultural economics, it has been my duty and privilege to try to satisfy numerous consumers of data with the products of the official state and federal statistical-gathering agencies. Important among these consumers of statistics have been administrators and research workers. Like most consumers, their appetities have grown, especially their appetites for variety and convenience. A check on the number and nature of requests serviced by our office during the past two years reveals that administrators have been most interested in two things: people and money. Numbers of people, their age, their location and other sundry characteristics vie for top place in administration interest. Administrators are repeatedly faced with the need for justifying projects and the associated expenditure of public money. How many people are affected? Who are they? Where are they? Who will benefit? Data are needed to answer these questions. These initial questions are hardly answered before the calls start coming for evidences of benefits and accomplishments. Has production increased? Have yields been boosted? What has happened to income? Have costs been cut? Is use increasing? Has our market area expanded? What have the responses been to this and that? The proof of success or failure, of accomplishment or lack of it, often hinges on what the figures show.