The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is conducting a Feral Swine Damage survey to measure the costs of feral swine damage to crop operations.
The survey is conducted in cooperation with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) – Wildlife Services.
Operators who have received this survey should complete it by Aug. 12, 2022.
“Completing your survey will help us understand the impact that feral swine or wild hogs have on crops across the country,” said Wilbert Hundl, Jr., director of the NASS Southern Plains Regional Field Office. “The data that farm operators provide through this survey help provide a foundation for feral swine research.”
Over 11,000 farms and ranches are being surveyed in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
NASS recommends responding online using the new respondent portal. On the portal, farmers, ranchers and landowners can complete surveys, track upcoming surveys, access data visualizations and reports of interest, link to other USDA agencies and more.
Respondents can also complete their questionnaire and return it by mail. Alternatively, trained enumerators will follow-up with producers to collect the data.
USDA APHIS National Wildlife Research Center states that feral swine exist in at least 31 states, and the nationwide population is estimated at about 6 million animals.
Feral swine damage pastures, agricultural crops, lawns, landscaping and natural areas by feeding, rooting, wallowing, grazing and trampling activities. This survey focuses specifically on damage to corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, peanuts and sorghum.
APHIS will analyze these data as a baseline for future studies and any published information will be made available to the public through the APHIS Feral Swine Resources website.
The information provided by producers will be used for statistical purposes only. In accordance with federal law, survey responses will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed in identifiable form.
For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Texas Field Office at 1-800-626-3142.
Trinity, Texas: my ranch is on the Trinity River across from the Ellis Unit. We have lots of hogs: they muck up our creeks, rut our roads, hay pastures, food plots for deer & wallow in my ponds!!!!!
The answer is simple abs anyone who knows the basics of swine can answer it. It’s a lot. And six million is a gross under estimate. They are going to spend all this money on a study. It’s a waste of money. Give us a poison. It’s the only sustainable solution.
We are in Guadalupe county Texas we cannot bale our field because of hogs rout our Fields so bad and our roads
Hogs will destroy 40-60 acres of irrigated corn/year on our Brazos River bottom farms.
Feral hogs are an extreme continuing problem on our ranch: destroying our hay fields and grazing pastures; wallowing in our lake and pond banks leading to foot rot in our cattle; rutting up our hay fields making it extremely difficult to cut and bale hay; damaging our fences and water gaps; running off the deer and other wildlife; etc., etc. Hunting and shooting the feral hogs doesn’t even make a dent in the fast-growing population!