National Agricultural Statistics Service

National Agricultural Statistics Service
Agency overview

Formed	1863; 161 years ago (1863)
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Agency executive	Hubert Hamer, Administrator
Parent department	United States Department of Agriculture
Website	http://www.nass.usda.gov/

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is the

environment. NASS also conducts the United States Census of Agriculture

every five years.

History

During the Civil War, USDA collected and distributed crop and livestock statistics to help farmers assess the value of the goods they produced. At that time, commodity buyers usually had more current and detailed market information than did farmers, a circumstance that often prevented farmers from getting a fair price for their goods. Producers in today's marketplace would be similarly handicapped were it not for the information provided by NASS.

The creation of USDA's Crop Reporting Board in 1905 (now called the Agricultural Statistics Board) was another landmark in the development of a nationwide statistical service for agriculture. A USDA reorganization in 1961 led to the creation of the Statistical Reporting Service, known today as National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).[1]

The 1997 Appropriations Act

USDA. Since then the census has been conducted every five years by NASS. Results from the 2012 Census of Agriculture were released on May 2, 2014.^[3]

Surveys and reports

The primary sources of information for NASS reports are farmers, ranchers, livestock feeders, slaughterhouse managers, grain elevator operators and other agribusinesses. NASS relies on these survey respondents to voluntarily supply data for most reports.

NASS surveys are conducted in a variety of ways, including

online response, face-to-face interviews and field observations. Once the information is gathered and interpreted, NASS issues estimates and forecasts for crops and livestock and publishes reports on a variety of topics including production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages

, farm income and finances, and agricultural chemical use. NASS's field offices publish local data about many of the same topics.

Importance of NASS data

Producers, farm organizations, agribusinesses, lawmakers and government agencies all rely on the information produced by NASS. For instance:

Statistical information on
acreage
, production, stocks, prices and value is essential for the smooth operation of federal farm programs.
Agricultural data are indispensable for planning and administering related federal and state programs in such areas as
conservation and environmental quality, trade, education and recreation
.

NASS data helps to ensure an orderly flow of goods and services among agriculture's producing, processing and marketing sectors.

Reliable, timely and detailed crop and livestock statistics help to maintain a stable economic climate and minimize the uncertainties and risks associated with the production, marketing and distribution of commodities.

Farmers and ranchers rely on NASS reports in making various production and marketing decisions, such as how much grain to plant, how much livestock to raise and when to buy or sell agricultural

commodities

NASS estimates and forecasts are used by the transportation sector, warehouse and storage companies, banks and other lending institutions, commodity traders and food processors.

The businesses that provide farmers with seeds, equipment, chemicals and other goods and services use the data when planning their marketing strategies.

Analysts transform the statistics into projections of coming trends, interpretations of the trends' economic implications and evaluations of alternative courses of action for producers, agribusinesses and policymakers.

Crop reports relating to acreage, yields, and production.

References

^ "Home". nass.usda.gov.
^ "Govinfo".
^ "Home". agcensus.usda.gov.

External links

v t e United States Department of Agriculture
Headquarters: Jamie L. Whitten Building Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs	Foreign Agricultural Service United States Codex Office
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment	Forest Service
Under Secretary for Rural Development	Rural Housing Service Rural Utilities Service Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services	Food and Nutrition Service (Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion)
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety	Food Safety and Inspection Service
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics	Agricultural Research Service (National Agricultural Library) National Agricultural Statistics Service Economic Research Service National Institute of Food and Agriculture Office of the Chief Scientist
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs	Agricultural Marketing Service Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation	Farm Service Agency (Commodity Credit Corporation) Risk Management Agency (Federal Crop Insurance Corporation) Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm Production and Conservation Business Center
Office of the Chief Financial Officer	National Finance Center
*Reports directly to the Secretary of Agriculture

v t e United States government agencies involved in environmental science
Environmental Protection Agency Global Change Research Program National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Smithsonian Institution
Department of the Interior	Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Bureau of Reclamation National Park Service United States Fish and Wildlife Service United States Geological Survey Office of the Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement
Department of Commerce	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Geodetic Survey Marine Fisheries Service Ocean Service Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Weather Service
Department of Energy	Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of Environmental Management Office of Science National Laboratories and Technology Centers
Department of Agriculture	Agricultural Research Service Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Farm Service Agency Food and Nutrition Service Foreign Agricultural Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (National Water and Climate Center) Rural Utilities Service Forest Service
Department of Homeland Security	Science and Technology Directorate United States Coast Guard
Department of Health and Human Services	Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Department of Defense	Air Force Research Laboratory Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Joint Typhoon Warning Center Office of Naval Research Combat Capabilities Development Command
Executive Office of the President	Climate Policy Office Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Council on Environmental Quality
Defunct	Environmental Science Services Administration United States Fish Commission United States Coast and Geodetic Survey White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy

v t e Federal Statistical System of the United States
Principal agencies	Census Bureau Bureau of Labor Statistics National Center for Education Statistics National Agricultural Statistics Service National Center for Health Statistics Energy Information Administration Bureau of Economic Analysis Economic Research Service Bureau of Justice Statistics National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (National Science Foundation) Statistics of Income Division (Internal Revenue Service) Bureau of Transportation Statistics Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social Security Administration)
Other agencies	Economics and Statistics Administration Office of Immigration Statistics HUD USER
As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget , the principal agencies of the Federal Statistical System have statistical activities as their core mission and conduct much of the government’s statistical work.

v t e Agriculture in the United States
History	African-American Black land loss Slavery Ancient Hawaiian aquaculture Columbian exchange Eastern Agricultural Complex Three Sisters Native American in Virginia Prehistoric agriculture on the Great Plains Prehistoric agriculture in the Southwestern United States Wine
Industries	Banana Bee Blackcurrant Cannabis Hemp Cherry Christmas tree Corn Cotton Cider Dairy Hop Poultry Rice Spinach Sugar Tea Tobacco Connecticut shade tobacco Wheat Wine
State, commonwealth, or territory-specific	Alabama wine Alaska aquaculture cannabis wine Arizona wine cannabis Arkansas rice wine California almonds cannabis walnuts wine Colorado wine cannabis Connecticut cannabis wine Delaware cannabis wine Florida wine tomato mango Georgia wine Hawaii coffee sugar wine genetically modified food Idaho wine Illinois cannabis wine Indiana wine Iowa wine Kansas wine Kentucky wine Louisiana Louisiana wine Maine aquaculture cannabis wine Maryland cannabis wine Massachusetts cannabis wine Michigan cannabis cherries wine Minnesota wine Mississippi wine Missouri cannabis wine Montana cannabis wine Nebraska wine Nevada cannabis wine New Hampshire wine New Jersey cannabis wine New York cannabis wine New Mexico cannabis chile wine North Carolina wine North Dakota wine Ohio wine Oklahoma wine Oregon wine cannabis Pennsylvania wine Puerto Rico Cannabis Rhode Island cannabis wine South Carolina wine South Dakota wine Tennessee wine Utah wine Vermont cannabis wine Virginia cannabis wine Virgin Islands Cannabis Washington cannabis wine West Virginia wine Wisconsin dairy wine Wyoming wine Guam cannabis Northern Mariana Islands cannabis Texas rice wine
By region	Southwestern United States Black Dirt Region Corn Belt Cotton Belt Fruit Belt Rice Belt Pacific Northwest oyster industry
Government organizations	United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service United States Census of Agriculture
Law and politics	Agricultural policy Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 Capper–Volstead Act Children's Act for Responsible Employment Farm bill Food Security Act of 1985 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 Grain Futures Act Packers and Stockyards Act
Health and environment	Agricultural workers mental health Climate change Farmer suicide Genetically modified food Water supply Ogallala Aquifer
Crime	California nut crimes
Labor	Bracero Program Convict leasing Farm Labor Organizing Committee H-2A visa United Farm Workers United Food and Commercial Workers Woman's Land Army of America
Other	Ranch

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	Israel United States Czech Republic
Other	IdRef

History

Surveys and reports

Importance of NASS data

See also

References

External links