By Justin Walker
Communications Specialist
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will release the results from the 2017 Census of Agriculture on Thursday, April 11, at 11 a.m.
The report will include national, state and county data on the number of farms, land in farms, total value of production and demographics, among other data points.
“We are excited to share the new Census of Agriculture data,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said. “The census data will help inform decisions about ag education, research, farm programs, rural development and much more over the next several years. Conducting the census is part of USDA’s commitment to you.”
Census data will be accessible through the NASS website and will include related publications, video presentations and searchable data query interfaces.
Three videos explaining the importance of the census, including what’s new and how to find census data, is currently available in preparation for the report’s release.
According to USDA, the census will contain information on military service, food practices and on-farm decision making. This information documents roles and contributions of beginning farmers, women farmers and others involved in farming and ranching operations.
Data from the census will represent farmers and ranchers from all 50 states. Additional data is being collected by NASS in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.
NASS is in the final stages of data collection for two other reports—the 2018 Census of Aquaculture and the 2018 Irrigation and Water Management Survey. These reports will be released later this year.