Soon your mailboxes will be holding a questionnaire from the USDA National Ag Statistics Service (NASS). This is the survey they want farmers to fill out about your total harvested acres. This information will be part of the final yearly estimates that come out in January. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig is urging Iowa?s farmers to take the time to fill out this information.
Audio: Full Interview with Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig about NASS surveys &Presidential Turkeys.
Whether it was drought or derecho, just about every county in Iowa was affected by Mother Nature. USDA NASS is going to be needing accurate data from on the ground to finalize their numbers. Numbers that the marketplace will react to accordingly. Naig says it is vitally important that Iowa farmers fill out their information.
There are many who are skeptical about what USDA NASS does with their data. Also, there have been concerns with the methods that are used in collecting it. Naig reminds farmers that NASS only goes with the data that is sent back to them. There may be a need to change some data collection methods, but the primary source is the individual farmers who fill out their surveys.
You can now complete your survey online by going to agcounts.usda.gov. The data will also be used to determine federal and state support programs that can be used across the state. USDA NASS reminds producers that they safeguard the privacy of those surveyed and only publishes aggregate data. No individual producer can be identified per federal law.
