Source: USDA, 5/1/14
 
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 farmers across the state to determine crop production and supplies levels in 2014.

“Due to the widespread impact of its results, the June Agricultural Survey, which we also refer to as the Crops/Stocks Survey and the June Area Survey, are two of the most important surveys NASS conducts,” explained Dee Webb, State Statistician of the NASS North Carolina Field Office. “Information growers provide serves as the first clear indication of the potential production and supply of major commodities in the United States for the 2014 crop year.” 

           NASS gathers the data for the agriculture survey online, by mail or by phone. For the area survey, agency representatives will visit randomly selected tracts of land and interview the operators of any farm or ranch on that land. Growers will provide information on crop acreage – including biotech crops—as well as grain stocks, livestock inventory, cash rents, land values, and value of sales. 

           NASS will compile and analyze the survey information and publish the results in a series of USDA reports, including the annual Acreage report and quarterly Grain Stocks report, both to be released on June 30, 2014. Survey data contribute to NASS’s monthly and annual Crop Production reports, as well as the annual Small Grains Summary and USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. 
As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law. “NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified,” stated Webb.

All reports are available on the NASS website: www.nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS North Carolin Field Office at 1-800-437-8451.
For an .pdf copy of this announcement please follow this link:  http://www.ncagr.gov/stats/announcements/2014June.pdf