R. RONALD BOSECKER

Administrator
National Agricultural Statistics Service

Mr. R. Ronald Bosecker, Administrator, has led the U. S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) since December of 1999. NASS' mission is to provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. Under his leadership, NASS serves as the official source of comprehensive, current, and reliable information on U.S. farms and ranches. NASS's statistics provide critical facts for research, policy decisions, and production and marketing decisions and are an essential tool for orderly flow of goods and services throughout the agriculture sector. As NASS administrator, Mr. Bosecker leads a broad statistical program which includes use of list and area frame based surveys, administrative data, satellite imagery, and notably the most comprehensive fact finding project for agriculture – the quinquennial Census of Agriculture.

In 1992, prior to his appointment as Administrator, Mr. Bosecker was appointed to the Senior Executive Service. In this capacity he held two important executive positions. As Director of NASS' Research Division he was responsible for research on new statistical methodology and technology. This included research in such diverse areas as survey methodology, communications with farmers and ranchers, use of satellite data, new sampling techniques and use of sampling frames, nonsampling errors, and general advancements in statistical methodology. Mr. Bosecker's second position was to oversee all of NASS' 46 field offices taking on the role of Deputy Administrator to NASS.

Mr. Bosecker's career has included various responsibilities touching all aspects of statistical information collection and dissemination. In addition to his executive leadership, Mr. Bosecker headed NASS' Methods Staff and the Survey Sampling Branch, the operational units responsible for oversight and implementation of NASS'statistical methodology and survey sampling. Prior to those positions, he was the Deputy State Statistician of the NASS California field office, the largest staffed field office in NASS. In that role, Mr. Bosecker led the office in carrying out operational aspects of data collection and production of state agricultural statistics in one of America 's most diverse farming states.

Mr. Bosecker contributes to statistical quality beyond the USDA. During his tenure at NASS, he has provided technical assistance and program evaluations to many countries, including Tunisia , Haiti , Bolivia , Equador, and Argentina . He has hosted hundreds of international visitors to NASS through its active international assistance and training program. He is currently a member of the U.S. Interagency Council on Statistical Methodology.

Mr. Bosecker holds degrees from Southern Illinois University and Ohio State University in Agricultural Economics and in Mathematical Statistics from Ohio State .