USDA surveys provide the first clear signs of the production of major commodities for the 2015 crop year

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services today announced that the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will survey more than 1,700 farms across Virginia to determine crop production and supplies levels in 2015.

Due to the widespread impact of its results, the June Agricultural Surveys are two of the most significant surveys NASS conducts. Information growers provide serves as the first clear sign of the prospective production and supply of major commodities in the United States for the 2015 crop year.

NASS gathers the data for the June Agriculture Surveys online, by mail, phone and/or farm visits. Growers will provide information on crop acreage, 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 June 30, 2015. 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 kept strictly confidential, as required by federal 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 Herman Ellison, Director of the NASS Virginia Field Office. “We recognize this is a hectic time for farmers and ranchers, but the information they provide is essential to everyone involved in U.S. agriculture. I urge them to respond to these surveys and thank them for their cooperation,” he said.

All reports are available on the NASS website: www.nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Virginia Field Office 1-800-772-0670.