The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services encourages Virginia agricultural producers to sign up for the 2022 Census of Agriculture by June 30.
The Census of Agriculture, conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.
Agricultural producers who have never received a census or are new to NASS surveys, should visit www.agcensus.usda.gov and click the ‘Sign Up To Be Counted’ link before June 30.
Agricultural producers do not need to sign up if they already receive NASS surveys. Even small plots of land – whether rural or urban – growing fruit, vegetables or some food animals count if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year.
“The Census of Agriculture provides uniform, comprehensive, and impartial agriculture data for every county in Virginia,” said Joseph Guthrie, Commissioner of VDACS. “Census results are relied upon heavily by those who serve farmers and rural communities, such as federal, state and local governments, agribusinesses, trade associations, extension educators, researchers, and even farmers and ranchers themselves. As such, the Census of Agriculture provides agricultural producers in the Commonwealth a voice in their future.”
The 2022 Census of Agriculture will be mailed at the end of this year. The census looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures.
To learn more about the 2022 Census of Agriculture, visit www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.
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Crystal Graham
