National Agricultural Statistics Service Logo
The National Agricultural Statistics Service or NASS is the statistical branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NASS conducts hundreds of surveys and issues nearly 500 national reports each year on issues including agricultural production, economics, demographics and the environment. NASS also conducts the Census of Agriculture every five years.
Mission
NASSs mission is to provide timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.
Structure
NASS has 46 field offices throughout the United States and Puerto Rico and a headquarters unit in Washington, D.C..
Surveys and reports
The primary sources of information for NASS reports are farmers, ranchers, livestock feeders, slaughterhouse managers, grain elevator operators and other agribusinesses. NASS relies on these survey respondents to voluntarily supply data for most reports.
NASS surveys are conducted in a variety of ways, including mail surveys, telephone interviews, online response, face-to-face interviews and field observations. Once the information is gathered and interpreted, NASS issues estimates and forecasts for crops and livestock and publishes reports on a variety of topics including production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages, farm income and finances, and agricultural chemical use. NASSs field offices publish local data about many of the same topics.
Importance of NASS data
Producers, farm organizations, agribusinesses, lawmakers and government agencies all rely on the information produced by NASS. For instance:
- Statistical information on acreage, production, stocks, prices and value is essential for the smooth operation of federal farm programs.
- Agricultural data are indispensable for planning and administering related federal and state programs in such areas as consumer protection, conservation and environmental quality, trade, education and recreation.
- NASS data helps to ensure an orderly flow of goods and services among agricultures producing, processing and marketing sectors.
- Reliable, timely and detailed crop and livestock statistics help to maintain a stable economic climate and minimize the uncertainties and risks associated with the production, marketing and distribution of commodities.
- Farmers and ranchers rely on NASS reports in making various production and marketing decisions, such as how much grain to plant, how much livestock to raise and when to buy or sell agricultural commodities.
- NASS estimates and forecasts are used by the transportation sector, warehouse and storage companies, banks and other lending institutions, commodity traders and food processors.
- The businesses that provide farmers with seeds, equipment, chemicals and other goods and services use the data when planning their marketing strategies.
- Analysts transform the statistics into projections of coming trends, interpretations of the trends economic implications and evaluations of alternative courses of action for producers, agribusinesses and policymakers.
See also
External Links
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