Polk Business People: Jim Ewing, Acting Office Director USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service

Jim Ewing


WINTER HAVEN | Modest two- to six-page reports on Florida's citrus crop beginning in October and updated monthly to July have a big impact on the local, state, national and even international economies.

Citrus growers and commodities traders eagerly await those crop forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which play a big role in setting farm prices for the current season's oranges and other citrus fruit and for trading in orange juice, a global commodity.

The Maitland-based Florida Field Office of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service prepares the crop forecasts. The office is a partnership between the USDA and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The USDA's Jim Ewing, the office's acting director, spoke with The Ledger last week.

A Homestead native, Ewing is a 25-year veteran of the Statistics Service.


Q: How do you conduct the crop estimates?

A: Each year, we conduct a tree inventory survey to establish the total number of citrus trees in Florida.

The next step is to determine how much fruit is on the trees. This is done during the limb count survey during the summer. Nine crews of three to four people visit sample trees and count all of the fruit on the selected portion of the tree.

Then we determine how much fruit has dropped and how large are the fruit. This is done during our size and drop survey each month during the growing season.


Q: Why are the estimates important?

A: These forecasts are conducted under clearly defined statistical protocols and are official USDA estimates. They are released to everyone at the same time and represent an unbiased, impartial assessment of the citrus crop.


Q: What are some of the obstacles you face in doing your work?

A: The major obstacle we are faced with is conducting our citrus field work with a vehicle fleet with an average of more than 167,000 miles. Three-fourths of our fleet should be replaced using the State Department of Motor Vehicle mileage criteria.

However, the state Legislature has not approved the purchase of new vehicles for us since 2010, so we are forced to repair the vehicles we have. Increased maintenance costs and decreased productivity are a direct result of this situation.


Q: How is your agency structured and financed?

A: Our office is a cooperative endeavor between the state of Florida and the federal government.

The funding for the state component comes from the citrus growers' box tax, while the federal costs are from USDA funds.


Q: What else are you working on?

A: In addition to citrus forecasts, our office produces crop and livestock estimates on major commodities grown in Florida, everything from broilers to strawberries.

Our largest data collection effort, the 2012 Census of Agriculture, is just under way. On Dec. 28, every farmer and rancher in Florida and across the nation was mailed a Census of Agriculture questionnaire. This is the most comprehensive source of agriculture data available.

We are asking everyone to complete their questionnaires and mail them back in advance of the Feb. 4 due date. This will allow us to more efficiently complete the data collection phase and reduce our costs.


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