The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced they will be gathering information about the adoption of conservation practices across the Southeast.
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is mailing the Conservation Practice Adoption Motivations Survey this week to nearly 2,700 farmers and ranchers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. The new survey is a joint project between NASS and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It’s aimed at better understanding conservation practice adoption and the role of technical and financial assistance.
There are two versions of the survey this year, one requesting information on crop conservation practices and one for confined livestock conservation practices. The results will be used to guide the implementation of NRCS programs in the future.
NASS encourages recipients to respond securely online. Producers responding online will now use the new respondent portal. Through the portal, surveys can be completed, along with getting access to data visualizations and reports of interest, links to other USDA agencies, local weather updates and more. Completed questionnaires may also be mailed back in the prepaid envelope provided. But, if NASS does not receive a completed survey by Monday, June 13, 2022, they may reach out to schedule a telephone interview.
Results from both versions of the survey will be available Thursday, September 15, 2022. All information reported by individuals will be kept confidential, as required by federal law.
For assistance with the survey, producers can call the NASS Southern Region Field Office at 1-800-253-4419.