The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently mailed the "National Agricultural Classification Survey" (NACS) to 350,000 potential farmers and ranchers to help identify all those engaged in agricultural activity in the country to ensure that they are included in the 2022 "Census of Agriculture."

NASS requests that each person who receives the NACS respond by May 4, 2020.

"NACS plays an integral role in getting a complete count in the 'Census of Agriculture,'" NASS census and survey division director Barbara Rater said. “By participating in the census, producers show the breadth and value of agriculture and inform decisions that can impact their operations and industry. For these reasons, we need every NACS recipient to respond. Even if they believe the form does not apply to them, we ask that they respond online to at least the first four questions.”

To protect the health and safety of the public and its employees, NASS has suspended in-person data collection and limited other in-person processes until further notice. Survey recipients are encouraged to respond online at www.agcounts.usda.gov with the 17-digit survey code that was mailed to them.

Completing the online questionnaire is fast and secure and decreases the need for follow-up and in-person mail processing, NASS said. Completed forms may also be mailed back in the prepaid envelope provided.

The "Census of Agriculture" is conducted once every five years. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive and impartial agricultural data for every state and county in the nation. Agricultural groups, community-based organizations, university extension, agribusinesses, federal and local policy-makers, researchers and many others use the important data collected in the census.

“We need to hear from everyone involved in agriculture, big or small,” Rater said. “From the equestrian with a couple of horses to the rooftop gardener to the producer managing a large family operation, each of these people should have a voice in the decisions being made about things like agricultural assistance programs and education.”

If you did not receive the 2017 "Census of Agriculture" or the NACS and believe you should have, please sign up to be counted at www.nass.usda.gov. All information reported by individuals is kept confidential, as required by federal law.

For more on NACS and the 2022 "Census of Agriculture," visit www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.

NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.