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USDA TO COUNT LAND USES ACROSS THE STATE
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will spend the first two weeks of June surveying approximately 2,000 farmers across Alabama to get a clear indication of the production and supply of major commodities for 2012. NASS will compile information collected across the country into one publically accessible report to ensure the confidentiality of individual farmer information.
Through two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey, NASS will gather data on what crops have been planted and what commodities are in storage. This information will provide a comprehensive picture of how things are shaping up in 2012 for the U.S. agriculture industry.
“The agriculture survey is done online, by mail or by phone, but for the area survey, we visit randomly selected tracts of land and interview the operators of any farm or ranch on that land. We collect information on crop acreage – including biotech crops—as well as grain stocks, livestock inventory, cash rents, land values, and value of sales,” said William Weaver, director of the NASS Alabama Field Office. “This information is a critical component of several key national reports, including the annual Acreage Report and the quarterly Grain Stocks report, both to be released on June 29. Survey data also contribute to NASS’s monthly and annual Crop Production reports and various other crop and livestock-related publications, including USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates,” Cross said.
As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law.
“NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified,” said Weaver.
All reports are available online at nass.usda.gov. For more information, call the NASS Alabama Field Office at (800) 832-4181.
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