USDA To Conduct Survey in Ga., Neighboring States

Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend the first two weeks of this month surveying thousands of farmers in Georgia and surrounding states to gain insight on the year in agriculture.

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS, will survey farmers in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida to get a clear indication of the production and supply of major commodities for this year.

According to the USDA, these surveys are among the agency’s largest and most important and serve as a primary source of agricultural information and will provide accurate and reliable data about 2015 planted acreages of major crops, grain stocks, and livestock in Georgia and nationwide.

USDA officials said producers rely on the survey results to make production, marketing, and investment decisions, while Congress utilizes the information to design regulations and farm programs and other people in the agriculture industry also use the information in a variety of different ways.

The USDA said growers across the South will be contacted during the coming weeks to obtain data regarding their operations.

This data will be collected by mail, phone, and personal interviews, while growers will also be given the opportunity to report on the Internet for selected surveys.

Officials said all information provided by respondents is confidential by law and only aggregate totals are published so no individual operation or producer can be identified.

All reports are then available when finished on the NASS website at www.nass.usda.gov.