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National Agricultural Statistics Service surveying what farmers intend to plant in 2015

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economic-forecast-headerThe March Agricultural Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey approximately 82,000 of the nation’s farmers to determine their plans for the upcoming growing season.

“Each year, the agriculture industry eagerly awaits USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, which provides the first survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ planting intentions for the year,” said NASS’ Virginia State Statistician Herman Ellison. “The March Agricultural Survey provides the factual data that underpins these projections, making it one of the more important surveys we conduct each year.”

NASS mailed the survey questionnaire in late February, asking producers to provide information about the crops they intend to plant in 2015 and the amount of grain they store on their farms. NASS encourages producers to respond online or by mail. Those producers who do not respond by the deadline may be contacted for a telephone or personal interview.

NASS will compile and analyze the survey information and publish the results in the annual Prospective Plantings report and quarterly Grain Stocks report, both to be released on March 31, 2015.

As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential, as required by federal law. NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified. These and all NASS reports are available online atwww.nass.usda.gov.

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