The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey producers throughout the U.S. as part of its County Agricultural Production Survey (CAPS).
The survey will collect information on total acres planted and harvested, and total yield and production of small grains down to the county level. CAPS will provide the data needed to estimate acreage and production of selected crops such as barley, oats, and wheat in the United States.
“The data provided by producers will help federal and state programs support the farmer,” said King Whetstone, director of the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office. “I hope every producer understands the importance of this data and will take the time to respond, if they receive this survey. Producers can lose out when there are no data to determine accurate rates for loans, disaster payments, crop insurance price elections and more. When enough producers do not respond to surveys, NASS is not able to publish data. Without data, agencies such as USDA’s Risk Management Agency or Farm Service Agency do not have information on which to base the programs that serve those same producers.”
Farmers are encouraged to respond online at https://agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. Alternatively, within the next few weeks, NASS representatives will contact selected growers to arrange telephone interviews to complete the survey.
NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified, as required by federal law.
Survey results will be published on the NASS Quick Stats database at https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov. For more information, please call the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office at (800) 498-1518.
