• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

ARMS SURVEY 2009 -10


No .... ARMS is not a survey of young, fit Australian's biceps muscles!

ARMS is, in fact, an acronym for one of ABS' annual surveys, the Agricultural Resource Management Survey. In recent times, an ARMS or an Agricultural Survey has been conducted every year, other than in Agricultural Census years (which is every fifth year). The ARMS collects a reduced set of commodities as compared to the Agricultural Survey, but has a stronger focus on land management data. Around 38,000 farm businesses are involved in the survey. They are selected from the Australian Business Register and must have an Estimated Value of Operations (EVAO), or equivalent, of $5,000 or more per year.

The collected data are used by federal and state governments in planning, policy making and budget creation for the agricultural sector. Primary producers, industry organisations and suppliers and other agricultural service and support industries are also major users for planning and decision making purposes.

Preliminary results from the 2009 -10 ARMS at the national and state level were released on 11 November 2010 in the publication Principal Agricultural Commodities - Preliminary (cat. no. 7111.0). This includes the preliminary estimates of area and production for principal agricultural commodities, including major crops such as wheat, oats, rice, sugar cane. Livestock numbers for meat and milk cattle, sheep and lambs and pigs are also presented. The category link shown above will take you to the publication.

Results from the 2009 -10 ARMS will also form the basis of a number of other ABS publications during 2011. The major releases to look out for next year are:

• Agricultural Commodities (cat. no. 7121.0) due out in April 2011. Presents final area and production estimates for a extended range of commodities;
• Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (cat. no. 7503.0) also due in April. Presents estimates of the total value of production for a wide range of agricultural commodities. Equivalent results for 2008-09 are discussed elsewhere in this newsletter;
• Water Use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0) due in May. Presents data on water sources and use for agricultural production;
• Land Management and Farming (cat. no. 4627.0) due in June. This publication includes a variety of information about agricultural land management practices.