US 2012 Census of Agriculture

Today I received a packet in the mail from USDA about the US 2012 Census of Agriculture. If you have completed one of these in the past, then you should see one in your mailbox soon. You can either complete the paper copy and mail it back or you can complete it online here. The census is due by February 4, 2013.

This in-depth survey is conducted every five years by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). It captures a complete count of all U.S. farms, ranches and those who operate them.  

According to NASS "the Census also helps tell the whole story of U.S. agriculture. Without the information collected we wouldn’t know that 3 million farmers in the United States, only one percent of our total population, provide feed, fuel, and fiber to the other 99 percent. While that seems like a huge task, we know that farmers are stepping up to the challenge because the data tell us that U.S. agriculture is growing."

For more information about the Census, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call 1-888-4AG-STAT (1-888-424-7828).