Rutgers University | New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station | Pesticide User Responsibility

March 2, 2025

USDA Extends Deadline For The 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties

Trenton, NJ – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will continue to collect the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties through April 18, 2025. Conducted just once every five years, the Census of Horticultural Specialties is the only source of detailed production and sales data for U.S. floriculture, nursery, and specialty crop industries, including greenhouse food crops.

Growers are encouraged to complete their survey either online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail as soon as possible. The online questionnaire is user-friendly, accessible on most electronic devices, and saves producers time by calculating totals and automatically skipping questions that do not apply to their operations.

NASS enumerators will also continue gathering data and ask respondents to complete and return their survey form as soon as possible. If those who have received the form are no longer involved in horticultural operations, or need assistance completing the questionnaire, they can call toll-free, 888-424-7828 so their record can be updated.

Producers who receive the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties are required to respond by federal law (Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113), as it is part of the Census of Agriculture program. That same law also requires NASS to keep all individual information confidential.

“This is a great opportunity to show the importance of New Jersey food grown under cover,” stated Bruce Eklund, USDA/NASS NJ State Statistician. “Our end-of-the-year vegetable survey, for example, only shows crops grown in the open.” Growers should have received the survey via mail and or a specific survey code to complete the survey online. If you can’t locate the survey or your code, please contact Bruce at 503.308.0404 or by email at bruce.eklund@usda.gov.

The 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties data is scheduled to be available on December 16, 2025, at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus and in the Quick Stats database at quickstats.nass.usda.gov. For more about the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties, please visit nass.usda.gov/go/hort.

NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Fruit, Organic Production, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: , ,
March 13, 2023

The 2022 Census of Agriculture – There’s Still Time To Be Counted!

New Jersey farmers still have time to be counted in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Although the deadline for submitting the ag census has just passed, NASS will continue to accept completed census questionnaires through the spring to ensure all farmers and ranchers take advantage of the opportunity to be represented in the widely used data.

“My sincere appreciation goes to producers who have already completed the census. We want to partner with New Jersey producers to show the importance of New Jersey agriculture,” said NASS New Jersey State Statistician Bruce Eklund. “There is strength in numbers. The time to do your part is now. There is still time for farmers to respond.”

NASS will continue to follow up with producers throughout the spring with mailings, phone calls, and personal visits. Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to complete their ag census either online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail as soon as possible.

Federal law under Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113 mandates that everyone who received the 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaire complete and return it, even if they are not currently farming. The same law requires NASS to keep all submissions confidential, use the information for statistical purposes only, and publish aggregate data to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation.

If you need a survey code or questionnaire, please contact the USDA, NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office, 4050 Crums Mill Rd., Suite 203, Harrisburg, PA 17112; Phone – 717-787-3904; eFax – 1-855-270-2719; or Email – nassrfoner@usda.gov.

NASS will release the results of the ag census in early 2024. To learn more about the Census of Agriculture, visit nass.usda.gov/AgCensus. On the website, producers and other data users can access frequently asked questions, past ag census data, special study information, and more. For highlights of these and the latest information, follow USDA NASS on Twitter at @usda_nass.

NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Vegetable Crops Tagged With: , ,
June 20, 2022

Sign Up By June 30 to Receive the 2022 Census of Agriculture

Sign up to be counted, agcensus counts

Agricultural producers who did not receive the 2017 Census of Agriculture and do not receive other USDA surveys or censuses have until June 30 to sign up to receive the 2022 Census of Agriculture. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will mail ag census survey codes for responding securely online to every known U.S. producer this November. Hard copy questionnaires will follow in December.

The ag census, conducted for over 180 years, remains the only source of comprehensive and impartial agricultural data for every state and county in the nation. It includes every operation – large or small, urban or rural – from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products are produced and sold, or would normally be produced and sold, in the ag census year.

“The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them,” said Bruce Eklund, state statistician of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), New Jersey Field Office. “Every response is important. The Census of Agriculture is only taken once every five years and documents the value of America’s rural and urban farmers and ranchers. When it comes to Agriculture, people seek information about the local level. Help us document the importance of agriculture in your area.”

On the NASS webpage, producers can also access frequently asked questions, explore past and current ag census data, access tools to help spread the word about the upcoming ag census, learn about ag census special studies, and more.

NASS builds its distribution list for every Census of Agriculture between and during ag census through the official sign-up webpage and multiple National Agricultural Classification Surveys. To learn more about the 2022 Census of Agriculture, visit their website or call the NASS New Jersey Field Office at 503-308-0404.

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NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates, Field, Forage & Livestock, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery Tagged With: , ,
April 22, 2021

USDA National Agricultural Classification Survey – Important to All of Us

Please see the information below. Also, please realize that your information counts. By having the correct information submitted, the USDA is able to properly allocate funds to states for farm assistance programs, agricultural conservation programs, agricultural research and other programs important to our industry. So please don’t discard your survey and please fill it out to the best of your knowledge and return it in the mail. 

Below information reprinted from Morning Ag Clips, April 22, 2021

WASHINGTON — The USDA’s National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS) is arriving in mailboxes around the nation. The survey, one of the most important steps in determining who should receive a 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaire, asks recipients if they are involved in agricultural activity. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently mailed the NACS to 633,000 potential agricultural producers. NASS requests that each person who receives the survey respond by May 3.

“The NACS shows the breadth of American agriculture and helps to ensure we get a complete count of farms and ranches in the upcoming agriculture census,” said NASS Census and Survey Division Director Barbara Rater. “Every response matters. Even if a recipient believes the survey does not apply to them, we ask that they respond online to at least the initial screening questions.”

NASS encourages recipients to respond securely online at www.agcounts.usda.gov, using the 12-digit survey code mailed with the survey. Completed questionnaires may also be mailed back in the prepaid envelope provided.

Referenced by countless national and local decision-makers, researchers, farm organizations, and more, the once-every-five-year Census of Agriculture is the leading source of facts about American agriculture. “The NACS ensures that everyone who produces and sells, or would normally sell, $1000 or more of agricultural product in a calendar year have a voice by being represented in the agriculture census,” said Rater.

If you did not receive the 2017 Census of Agriculture or the NACS and believe you should have, please sign up to be counted at www.agcounts.usda.gov/getcounted. All information reported by individuals will be kept confidential, as required by federal law. For more information about the NACS, visit www.nass.usda.gov/go/nacs. For assistance with the survey, please call 888-424-7828.

Filed Under: Commercial Ag Updates Tagged With: ,