Quintennial Census of Agriculture will have new questions on hemp, precision agriculture, internet access, and more

Some changes are coming to the Census of Agriculture, a survey of U.S. farmers and ranchers conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture every five years, according to a USDA press release. 

For one thing, USDA has a new web portal meant to make participation easier, especially for those with spotty internet or limited time who can't complete the entire survey in one sitting. The agency's National Agricultural Statistics Service, which conducts the census, invited about 15,000 farmers to do a trial run of the portal in January to iron out any bugs.

Also, the 2022 questionnaire will include new questions about the use of precision agriculture, hemp production, hair sheep, and updates to internet access.

In November, NASS will mail participating farmers a letter inviting them to fill out the census online, and mail out the paper questionnaire in December. Sign-ups for the census closed June 30, but sign-ups were only necessary for those who didn't participate in the 2017 census and aren't on the lists to get mail or emails for any other USDA surveys or censuses. 

Farms of all sizes that produced and sold $1,000 or more of agricultural products in 2022 (or normally would have done so) are eligible to participate. The survey has been conducted for more than 180 years, and remains the only source of comprehensive and impartial agricultural data for every state and county.