Farmers can fill out Farm Producer Study by Jan. 18 to help government better understand and support farm country

The Agriculture Department's National Agricultural Statistics Service is asking farmers and producers to participate in the 2021 Farm Producer Study to help governments and other organizations better understand and support farm country.

The Farm Producer Study is a brief questionnaire meant to help the government and other agencies better understand farmer demographics such as race, ethnicity, gender, and disability status. It also helps NASS determine questions to incorporate in future censuses and surveys. Responses are due by Jan. 18.

The survey should take no more than 10 minutes. NASS mailed questionnaires to 75,000 producers nationwide, but any producer can respond securely online at http://www.agcounts.usda.gov. Participants who need help filling out the questionnaire can call 888-424-7828.

This should not be confused with a test-drive of the 2022 Census of Agriculture's new web portal. Starting this month, NASS will invite about 15,000 farmers and producers to do a trial run of the census ahead of its general fall launch. Click here for more information on that.