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BATON ROUGE – Feb. 1, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reminds Louisiana farmers and ranchers that the deadline to respond to the 2022 Census of Agriculture is next week, Feb. 6. Producers can respond online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.  

Last month, NASS mailed the Census of Agriculture questionnaires to every known ag producer in Louisiana, as well as all other States, and Puerto Rico. Conducted just once every five years, the ag census provides a complete account of the nation’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Responding to the Census of Agriculture is required by federal law under Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113. The same law requires NASS to keep all individual operations’ information confidential, use the data for statistical purposes only, and publish the data in aggregate form to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation.

“Louisiana has a unique mix of crops and livestock, and farms from less than an acre to 1,000’s of acres,” said Louisiana State Statistician Kathy Broussard.  “The Census of Agriculture collects the data that allows us to show the diversity of our agriculture and reflect the make-up of those individuals involved across the State. To do that, all our producers, farmers, and ranchers need to respond.  Broussard also said “even if you are a landlord, retired from farming, or received a 2022 Census of Agriculture questionnaire by mistake – please send it back with a note and we’ll take it from there.”

The Census of Agriculture remains the only source of uniform, comprehensive, and impartial agriculture data for every state, county, and U.S. territory. U.S. farm operations of all sizes, urban and rural, which produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products in 2022, are included as well as Puerto Rico farm operations which produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $500 or more of agricultural products in the ag census year.

Producers who have submitted their completed ag censuses may disregard any additional ag census letters and forms. Whether producers responded online or by mail, they can verify their reports were received by going to agcounts.usda.gov, entering their survey codes, and checking the submitted date under the status column of the My Surveys tab. The status update is not always immediate. The update can take a few minutes up to several days, especially if the questionnaire was returned by mail.

NASS will release the results of the ag census in 2024. Visit nass.usda.gov/agcensus, for more information.

NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.