The Road to Understanding Nonresponse in the June Area Survey

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) surveys farmers and ranchers across the United States and Puerto Rico in order to estimate crops and livestock, assess production practices, and identify economic trends. One of the surveys conducted annually is the June Area Survey (JAS). This survey requires NASS field interviewers (enumerators) to visit sampled land areas (segments) designated on aerial photos and record all agricultural activity occurring within those specified land areas. From 2000 to 2007, the national JAS overall response rate has been gradually deteriorating. In 2000, the response rate was 86.5 percent, but it had fallen to 81.7 percent by 2007. The assumption is that the JAS national response rate will fall below the Office of Management and Budget’s threshold rate of 80 percent in three to four years. Falling below this rate dictates the need for nonresponse bias analysis and, in general, heightens the concern about the potential negative impact on survey results. Since this study was conducted, the national response rate dropped to 80.2 percent in 2008, before rebounding somewhat to 82.0 percent in 2009. Thus, the urgency to reduce nonresponse is on our door step. This study examines some of the underlying causes of nonresponse occurring in the 2008 June Area Survey.