Apr 20, 2021

USDA’s National Agricultural Classification Survey is underway

The USDA’s National Agricultural Classification Survey is arriving in mailboxes around the nation. The survey, one of the most important steps in determining who should receive a 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaire, asks recipients if they are involved in agricultural activity.

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently mailed the National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS) to 633,000 potential agricultural producers. NASS requests that each person who receives the survey respond by May 3.

“The NACS shows the breadth of American agriculture and helps to ensure we get a complete count of farms and ranches in the upcoming agriculture census,” said NASS Census and Survey Division Director Barbara Rater. “Every response matters. Even if a recipient believes the survey does not apply to them, we ask that they respond online to at least the initial screening questions.”

NASS encourages recipients to respond securely online at www.agcounts.usda.gov, using the 12-digit survey code mailed with the survey. Completed questionnaires may also be mailed back in the prepaid envelope provided.

Referenced by countless national and local decision-makers, researchers, farm organizations, and more, the once-every-five-year Census of Agriculture is the leading source of facts about American agriculture. “The NACS ensures that everyone who produces and sells, or would normally sell, $1000 or more of agricultural product in a calendar year have a voice by being represented in the agriculture census,” said Rater.

If you did not receive the 2017 Census of Agriculture or the NACS and believe you should have, please sign up to be counted at www.agcounts.usda.gov/getcounted. All information reported by individuals will be kept confidential, as required by federal law.

For more information about the NACS, visit www.nass.usda.gov/go/nacs. For assistance with the survey, please call 888-424-7828.