Still Time to be Counted in the 2017 Census of Agriculture

Farmers and ranchers still have time to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Although the first deadline just passed, the National Ag Statistics Service will continue to accept Census information through this spring. The goal is to get a complete picture of American agriculture that represents all farmers and ranchers. NASS administrator Hubert Hamer says they currently have a little over 40 percent of the three million questionnaires that were sent out. “A lot is at stake if producers aren’t represented in this data,” he says. “Census data has and will continue to influence important policy decisions for American agriculture.” He says the Census data will affect every operation and every farming community at some point, whether through farm policy, disaster relief, insurance or loan programs, and a variety of other ways. Federal law mandates that everyone who received the 2017 Census of Agriculture questionnaire should complete and return it, even if they’re currently not farming. Farmers and ranchers are asked to return them by mail or fill out their answers online at www.agcounts.usda.gov.