U.S. farmers and ranchers have until Feb. 2 to report their 1997
operations to be counted in
the 25th Census of Agriculture. The census offers a complete
accounting of U.S. farm
production.
This year, for the first time, the census is conducted by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
National Agricultural Statistics Service. Before, the Census
Bureau had conducted the
agricultural census.
To make it easier to report, this year’s census forms ask
questions about basic subjects.
Among them are land use and ownership, crop acreage and
quantities harvested, livestock and
poultry inventories, value of crops and livestock sold and farm
operation characteristics.
About 25 percent of the farms will be asked other questions on
production expenses,
machinery inventories, market value of land and buildings and
income from farm-related
sources.
“The dynamic nature of agriculture makes the census important,”
said University of Georgia
expert Horace Hudson. He heads Department of Agricultural
Leadership, Education and
Communication in the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
“Constant, significant changes happen every four or five years
in agriculture. And we need to
have a record of those changes,” Hudson said. “We also have
several commodities in Georgia,
like kenaf, that are in their infancy, and we need to chart
their growth.”
The census, the only source of uniform, comprehensive farm data
for every U.S. county, is a
tool to help determine acres planted and harvested by crop. It
gives valuable information to
farm organizations and business planners. Policy makers also use
the information in proposing
national farm policy.
“Most important for farmers, it’s not just a help. It’s the
law,” Hudson said.
Federal law requires farmers to answer the census. The same law
also protects the privacy of
their reports. They may be seen only by sworn USDA employees and
used only for statistical
purposes. Copies submitted by farmers are immune from legal
processes.
The data provided by the census has many uses:
* Agribusinesses use the data to develop market strategies and
to learn the most effective
places of service to farmers.
* Farm organizations use census data to evaluate and propose
programs and policies that can
help farmers.
* Elected representatives use the data to develop programs to
protect and promote U.S.
agriculture.
* Rural electric companies use it to forecast future energy
needs for farms and farm
communities.
* Colleges and universities use it in research programs to
develop new and improved ways to
increase production.
The census also provides a national history of agriculture. It
was taken every 10 years from
1840 to 1920 and every five years from 1925 until 1974. The law
was then changed to gather
data on years ending in two and seven, beginning with the 1982
census.
“I don’t think people realize how much a part of their
communities agriculture is,” said Sue
Boatright. The data collection coordinator for the CAES
department of agricultural and applied
economics, she is also a coauthor of the annual Georgia County
Guide.
“The census gives information about the counties that isn’t
available anywhere else,” she said.
“It tells just how much of the economy is dependent on
agriculture and agribusiness.”
Farmers and ranchers who need help completing the census form
may call their county
Extension Service office. Or they can call the NASS office at
(888) 424-7828. Further
information is also on-line at www.usda.gov/nass/.
