Dover, Del. – During the next several weeks, 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 around 350 producers across Delaware to determine crop acreage and stock levels as of June 1, 2018.
“Delaware family farmers produce a variety of agricultural products on 500,000 acres of farmland, creating more than $8 billion in economic activity throughout the state,” said Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse. “The information that our farmers provide in these surveys is critical to helping everyone – from fellow farmers to legislators to businesses – make decisions that will ultimately impact Delaware’s number one industry. It is critical that NASS has the most accurate data, so I urge Delaware farmers to participate in the June Surveys.”
Data for the June Agricultural Surveys are gathered by NASS via the Internet, mail, phone, or via in-person interview. For the June Area Survey, trained NASDA enumerators representing NASS visit select tracts of land and interview the operators of any farm or ranch within that selected tract. Growers are asked to provide information on planted and harvested acreage – including acreage for biotech crops – and grain stocks. Additionally, the survey collects data on livestock inventory, cash rents, land values, and value of sales.
“NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified,” stated Dale P. Hawks, Maryland/Delaware State Statistician of the NASS Northeastern Regional Office. “We recognize this is a hectic time for farmers and ranchers, but the information they provide helps U.S. agriculture remain viable and capable.”
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, both to be released June 29, 2018. Survey data also contribute to NASS’s monthly and annual Crop Production reports, the annual Small Grains Summary, the annual Farms and Land in Farms and Land Values reports, various livestock reports, including Cattle, Sheep and Goats, and Hogs and Pigs, and USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
These and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/. For more information call the NASS Delaware Field Office at 800-282-8685.
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Media Contact: Stacey Hofmann, 302-698-4542, stacey.hofmann@delaware.gov