As the 2011 growing season comes to an end the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will contact producers nationwide to gather final year-end production numbers. After months of drought and extreme temperatures in Georgia, it’s vital for farmers to respond to the December Agricultural Survey to ensure the impacts of these weather conditions are accurately reported.

“The December Agricultural Survey is the largest and most important year-end survey conducted by NASS,” explained Douglas Kleweno, director of the NASS GA Field Office. “This survey is the basis for the official USDA estimates of production and harvested acres of all major agricultural commodities for GA and across the United States.

“Following a growing season with unprecedented weather extremes, data from the December Agricultural Survey will benefit farmers by providing timely and accurate information to help them make critical year-end business decisions and begin planning for next year,” added Kleweno.

During the first two weeks of December, NASS will contact selected GA producers by mail or telephone and ask them to provide information on their 2011 production and on-farm stocks. The information will be compiled, analyzed and then published in a series of USDA reports, including the annual Crop Production summary and quarterly Grain Stocks report, both to be released on January 12, 2012.

As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law. “NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified,” stated Kleweno.

All reports are available on the NASS website: www.nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS GA Field Office at 1-800-253-4419.

USDA

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