The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is encouraging producers to respond to two upcoming surveys – the December Agricultural Survey and the County Agricultural Production Survey – that are critical to row crop producers around the country. The results of the surveys help determine the structure of the 2017 farm payment and risk management programs administered by USDA's Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency.
"We need producers to respond to NASS surveys and respond accurately," says NASS Agricultural Statistics Board Chair Joseph L. Parsons. "Farm programs that are important to row crop producers rely on farmer-reported NASS data. When enough producers do not respond to the surveys, NASS is not able to publish data. Without these data, the Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency may not have all of the information that is needed to base the programs that ultimately serve the row crop producers. Producers can lose out when there is no data to determine accurate rates for loans, disaster payments, crop insurance price elections, and more."
The County Agricultural Production Survey will go to 170,000 row crop producers beginning November 3. Responses are due by January 15, 2018, and NASS will publish county-level results for corn, soybeans, sunflowers, and sorghum on February 22, 2018, in the Quick Stats database. These county-level data are critical for USDA farm payment determinations.
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