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.

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.

NASS’ 2021 Hemp Acreage and Production Survey

Check your mailboxes, Northeastern Region producers – the 2021 Hemp Acreage and Production Survey is in the mail. The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is surveying producers to collect information on the total planted and harvested area, yield, production, and value of hemp in the United States. Data is collected for hemp grown in the open and hemp grown under protection. This first hemp survey was sent to 2,400 potential hemp producers in the Northeastern Region.

This survey will set the benchmark for hemp acreage and production to assist regulatory agencies, producers, state governments, processors, and other key industry entities. Your response is important!

Online response is fast and secure. You may complete your form at agcounts.usda.gov. All you need is your unique survey code located on the front of the questionnaire mailed to you to complete your survey online. You may also complete and return your survey by mail using the return envelope provided.

If you received the survey and you are not an active hemp producer, answering a few simple questions at the beginning of this survey will ensure that you will not receive any further NASS communications about hemp.

USDA, NASS – Northeastern Regional Field Office
4050 Crums Mill Rd., Suite 203 * Harrisburg, PA 17112
Phone – 717-787-3904 * eFax – 1-855-270-2719
nassrfoner@usda.gov

Bruce Eklund, REE-NASS, Trenton, NJ bruce.eklund@usda.gov

USDA to Measure Financial Well-Being of Farmers and Ranchers

Agricultural Resource Management Survey Survey       Image result for usda ag counts

Initiated back in late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will be spending these next several months gathering information about farm economics and production practices from farmers and ranchers across the United States, as the agency conducts the third and final phase of the 2020 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS).

“ARMS is the only survey that measures the current financial well-being of producers and their households as a whole,” said King Whetstone, director of the NASS Northeastern Region. “The results of this survey will help inform decisions on local and federal policies and programs that affect farms and farm families.”

In an effort to obtain the most accurate data, NASS will reach out to more than 30,000 producers nationwide, between January and April in 2021. The survey asks producers to provide in-depth information about their operating revenues, production costs, and household characteristics.

The 2020 ARMS survey includes a version of the questionnaire focused on hog and pig production costs and returns. This year the survey also includes questions to help measure any impacts of COVID-19 on farms, farm and household finances, and off-farm employment. “In February, our interviewers will begin reaching out to those farmers who have not yet responded,” said Whetstone. “We appreciate their time and are here to help them with the questionnaire so that their information will continue supporting sound agricultural decision making.”

In addition to producing accurate information, NASS has strong safeguards in place to protect the confidentiality of all farmers who respond to its surveys. The agency will only publish data in an aggregate form, ensuring the confidentiality of all responses and that no individual respondent or operation can be identified.

Growers can complete the survey online, saving you time by allowing you to skip over questions that do not apply to you, by calculating totals automatically, and by providing drop-down menus for common answers. It also saves taxpayer dollars that would otherwise be spent on return postage and data entry.

To complete your survey online, you will need your unique Survey Code from the address label on the paper questionnaire or letter you received in the mail. You can save a partially completed survey by clicking “Save and Return Later.” Do not click the “Submit” button until you are sure you are finished with your survey.

The expense data gathered in ARMS will be published in the annual Farm Production Expenditures report in July 2021. That report and others are available by clicking here. More reports based on ARMS data and more information about ARMS are available online here. For more information, please call the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office at (800) 498-1518.

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 to Conduct 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, beginning in January 2021.  First conducted in 2015, this Census of Agriculture special study will look at local and regional food systems and provide new data on how locally grown and sold foods in the United States are marketed. The results will be available in November 2021. [Read more…]