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The United States Department of Agriculture is urging farmers to complete the 2022 Census of Agriculture by its Feb. 6 deadline.

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has sent the 2022 Census of Agriculture to nearly 3 million ag producers across the country. Survey codes for responding securely online were mailed in November and paper questionnaires in December.

“Through the ag census, producers can show the nation the value of Ohio agriculture and influence decisions that will shape the future of the industry,” said Marlo D. Johnson, director of the Great Lakes Regional Office. “Data from the census works for producers by improving decision- and policy-making regarding jobs, transportation, production practices, new technologies, marketing opportunities, farm services and programs, and local, state and federal policy. The Census of Agriculture is the producer’s voice in the future of American agriculture.”

The census remains the nation’s only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county, and U.S. territory. 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 in the ag census.

Producers can access the census form and instructions on the USDA website.

The online questionnaire is secure and user friendly with several time-saving features, such as skipping questions that do not pertain to the operation, pre-filling some information with previously reported data, and automatically calculating totals.

Responding to the Census of Agriculture is required by law under Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113. The same law requires NASS to keep all information confidential, to use the data only for statistical purposes, and only publish in aggregate form to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation. NASS will release the results of the ag census in 2024.