NASS Reaches Out To Producers For Data On 2023 Crops, Stocks & Values

By Mike Huske

USA Rice

WASHINGTON, DC – During the next several weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will contact producers across the country to determine crop acreage and stock levels as of June 1, 2023. In addition, NASS will collect information from farmers and ranchers from randomly selected land area segments across the state.

“The June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey are two of the most important and well-known surveys NASS conducts,” explained Kathy Broussard, state statistician of the NASS Louisiana State Field Office. “When producers respond to these surveys, they provide essential information that helps determine the expected acreage and supply of major commodities in the United States for the 2023 crop year. The results are used by farmers and ranchers, USDA, businesses, exporters, researchers, economists, policymakers, and others to inform a wide range of decisions.”

Producers can respond to the June Agricultural Survey online at agcounts.usda.gov, by phone, or through mail, and asked to provide information on planted and harvested acreage, including acreage for biotech crops and grain stocks.

For the June Area Survey, agency representatives will interview farm and ranch operators in randomly selected segments over the phone. Producers will be asked to provide information on crop acreage, grain stocks, livestock inventory, land values, and value of sales.

“NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents, by keeping all individual information confidential and publishing the data in aggregate form only to ensure that no operation or producer can be identified,” said Broussard. “We recognize that this is a hectic time for farmers, but the information they provide helps U.S. agriculture remain viable and capable. I urge them to respond to these surveys and thank them for their cooperation.”

NASS will analyze the survey information and publish the results in a series of USDA reports, including the annual Acreage and quarterly Grain Stocks reports June 30, 2023. Survey data also contribute to NASS’s monthly and annual Crop Production reports, the annual Small Grains Summary, various livestock reports, and USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.

“It’s important that everyone contacted participate in these USDA surveys as the resulting analysis and publications provide valuable data for our industry and others,” said Curtis Berry, Mississippi rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors. “We encourage you to do your part to help ensure the data collected for the rice industry reflects the situation on the ground given its real-world implications.”

All NASS reports are available at nass.usda.gov/publications/.