Census of Horticulture surveys in the mail
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is gearing up to survey the producers of horticultural crops. NASS is conducting the 2014 Census of Horticultural Specialties to gather detailed information on horticultural production and sales across the United States.
“The Census of Horticulture includes producers of floriculture, nursery and other specialty crops,” said Dee Webb, state statistician of the NASS North Carolina Field Office. “According to the most recent Census of Agriculture results, nursery and floriculture products were more than a $14.5 billion industry in the United States.”
This census will provide a source of comparable and consistent data at the national and state levels for the industry. NASS will gather information on horticultural activities conducted during 2014, including production of horticultural crops, value of products, square footage used for growing crops, production expenses and more.
“Participation is important because this census is a unique opportunity to provide information that will be used by policymakers, organizations and businesses for the next several years to help make decisions regarding the availability of goods and services, funding, policies and other key issues that affect the industry,” Webb said.
In December, NASS mailed the census to selected horticultural operations in the United States. For the 2014 Census of Horticulture Specialties, an operation is defined as any place that grew and sold $10,000 or more of horticultural specialty products in 2012, as reported in the 2012 Census of Agriculture.
Producers can fill out the Census online via a secure website, www.agcensus.usda.gov, or return their form by mail. Federal law requires all producers who receive a form to respond and requires NASS to keep all individual information confidential.
Recipients are required to respond by Feb. 5. NASS will publish the results in December 2015. For more about the Census of Horticulture, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call 919-856-4394.
