There have been previous reports from Indiana and Oklahoma of people posing as United States Census takers visiting poultry farms while attempting to take photos of the farm operations.
We just received notice that a Georgia broiler farm was the subject of a similar attempt. The grower in this case appropriately denied access to the fake census takers and requested that they leave the farm immediately.
While these “workers” did not identify who they truly work for, it is believed that they are employed by anti-animal agriculture organizations. We ask that you warn other poultry growers as well as dairy farmers that this has been happening and advise them on how to handle this situation.
Here is some helpful information from our friends at the Animal Agriculture Alliance (https://www.animalagalliance.org):
“If you are visited by someone from the Census Bureau, here are some ways to verify the individual is a Census Bureau employee:
The field representative will present an ID badge that includes:
- Their name
- Their photograph
- A Department of Commerce watermark
- An expiration date
- A field representative will be carrying an official bag with the Census Bureau logo or a laptop for conducting the survey.
- The field representative will provide you with a letter from the Census Bureau on official letterhead stating why they are visiting your residence.
- Field representatives conduct their work between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., local time.
- Upon request, the field representative will provide you with their supervisor’s contact information and/or the phone number for your Census Bureau Regional Office. The Regional Office supervises the activities of all field representatives in your area.
- If you wish to independently confirm that the person at your door is a Census Bureau employee, you can enter their name in the Census Bureau’s staff search website (https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/main/email.cgi), or contact the Regional Office for your state (https://www.census.gov/about/regions.html).”
Source: Georgia Agribusiness Council