Census of Agriculture Pt 2

Census of Agriculture Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. The February deadline for the Census of Agriculture survey has passed, but the data collected is vital so the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service will continue to accept them through Spring.

The USDA's Chris Mertz says only 42 percent have been returned so far ...

MERTZ ... "So, we need to get that bumped up, especially in our area here. We have a lot of diversity in our agriculture in the northwest. So, if we want to account for all the different types of farms and farmers that we have, we need to make sure we have a good set of data, good responses from all the producers so we can advocate for U.S. agriculture."

Mertz says one thing our region can brag about is we're all pretty good at electronic or online reporting ...

MERTZ ... "Oregon, Washington and Idaho are in the top four. Idaho is leading the country at 19.7% responses are coming via the internet. Oregon is at 16.1% and Washington is at an even 15%. So, we do quite well using the technology in reporting so we appreciate that as well."

Bottom line, Mertz says we need to get the data in ASAP ...

MERTZ ... "We're going to be calling people, contacting people, through May I'm sure, but let's get that done as soon as possible and if you get it returned then we will not be calling you or maybe knocking on your door to say hey, where's our information."

And, responding online can save you time.

Questions about the 2017 Census of Agriculture? Go to ag census dot usda dot gov.

Or, you can call the NASS office in Olympia at (360) 890-3300.

Previous ReportCensus of Agriculture Pt 1
Next ReportDACA Deadline Passed Pt 1