Guest editorial: Special issue on beginning farmers and ranchers

USDA policies and programs support beginning farmers and ranchers in several ways that are consistent with improved competitiveness of the agricultural sector overall. These include initiatives, such as business planning education and technical assistance, on risk management and conservation decisions. The USDA also provides access to capital through its direct and guaranteed lending programs. Finally, the USDA supports beginning farmers and ranchers through statistical reporting and economic analysis on beginning farmers and ranchers. The USDA ’ s primary research insights into beginning farmer and rancher demographics and well- being come from an annual cross-sectional financial survey known as the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) as well as the Census of Agriculture that takes place every five years. Farmers andrancherswhoaresurveyed throughtheARMSareasked torecordtheirproductionand financial information as well as how long they have been actively farming; this information allows researchers to compare outcomes between “ beginning ” farmers and ranchers vs others. Researchers at ERS and elsewhere have used successive Census of Agriculture data to understand what contributes to differences in the survival and growth of beginning farm operations. Research using the ARMS and Census of Agriculture data demonstrates the value of USDA ’ s commitment to long- term data collection to understand the structure and dynamics of the agricultural sector.