The cold, wet conditions being experienced across the Southeast has many wondering when the 2021 crop production season will ever begin. But with that time nearing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will contact producers to determine their plans for the upcoming growing season.
“Each year, the agriculture industry awaits USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, which provides the first survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ planting intentions for the year,” explained NASS Southern Regional Director Anthony Prillaman. “The March Agricultural Survey provides the factual data that underpins these projections, making it one of the most important surveys we conduct each year.”
Producers will be asked to provide information about the crops they intend to plant this year in this NASS survey questionnaire being mailed later this month. That includes how many acres you intend to plant and the amount of grain and oilseed stored on your farms.
NASS encourages producers to respond online or by mail. Producers who do not respond by the deadline may be contacted for a telephone interview.
As with all NASS surveys, information provided is confidential, as required by federal law. NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.
The results of this survey will be published in the Prospective Plantings and quarterly Grain Stocks report that is scheduled to be released March 31, 2021.
This and other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications.