Thursday, March 8, 2012

2012 ag census currently under way

Surveys are arriving in mailboxes around the nation to help identify all active farms in the United States.

The National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS), which asks landowners whether or not they are farming and for basic farm information, is one of the most important early steps used to determine who should receive a 2012 Census of Agriculture report form.  The Census of Agriculture, conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.

NACS is required by law as part of the U.S. Census of Agriculture.  By this same law, all information reported by individuals is kept confidential. NASS will mail the 2012 Census of Agriculture later this year and data will be collected into early 2013.

NASS provides accurate, timely, useful and objective statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.