National Agricultural Statistics Service

Agency overview
Formed	1863; 162 years ago (1863)
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.,U.S.
Agency executive	Joseph L. Parsons, Administrator
Parent department	United States Department of Agriculture
Website	https://www.nass.usda.gov/

TheNational Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is thestatistical branch of theU.S. Department of Agriculture and a principal agency of theU.S. Federal Statistical System. NASS has 12 regional offices throughout theUnited States andPuerto Rico and a headquarters unit inWashington, D.C. NASS conducts hundreds ofsurveys and issues nearly 500 national reports each year on issues includingagricultural production,economics,demographics and theenvironment. NASS also conducts theUnited States Census of Agriculture every five years.

During the Civil War, USDA collected and distributed crop and livestock statistics to help farmers assess the value of the goods they produced. At that time, commodity buyers usually had more current and detailed market information than did farmers, a circumstance that often prevented farmers from getting a fair price for their goods. Producers in today's marketplace would be similarly handicapped were it not for the information provided by NASS.

The creation of USDA's Crop Reporting Board in 1905 (now called the Agricultural Statistics Board) was another landmark in the development of a nationwide statistical service for agriculture. A USDA reorganization in 1961 led to the creation of the Statistical Reporting Service, known today as National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).^[1]

The 1997 Appropriations Act^[2] shifted the responsibility of conducting theCensus of Agriculture fromU.S. Census Bureau toUSDA. Since then the census has been conducted every five years by NASS. Results from the 2012 Census of Agriculture were released on May 2, 2014.^[3]

The primary sources of information for NASS reports arefarmers,ranchers,livestock feeders,slaughterhouse managers,grain elevator operators and otheragribusinesses. NASS relies on these survey respondents to voluntarily supply data for most reports.

NASS surveys are conducted in a variety of ways, includingmail surveys,telephone interviews,online response, face-to-face interviews and field observations. Once the information is gathered and interpreted, NASS issues estimates and forecasts for crops and livestock and publishes reports on a variety of topics including production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor andwages, farm income and finances, andagricultural chemical use. NASS's field offices publish local data about many of the same topics.

Producers, farm organizations, agribusinesses, lawmakers and government agencies all rely on the information produced by NASS. For instance:

• Statistical information onacreage, production, stocks, prices and value is essential for the smooth operation of federal farm programs.
• Agricultural data are indispensable for planning and administering related federal and state programs in such areas asconsumer protection,conservation andenvironmental quality,trade,education andrecreation.
• NASS data helps to ensure an orderly flow of goods and services among agriculture's producing, processing and marketing sectors.
• Reliable, timely and detailed crop and livestock statistics help to maintain a stable economic climate and minimize the uncertainties and risks associated with the production, marketing and distribution of commodities.
• Farmers and ranchers rely on NASS reports in making various production and marketing decisions, such as how much grain to plant, how much livestock to raise and when to buy or sell agriculturalcommodities.
• NASS estimates and forecasts are used by the transportation sector, warehouse and storage companies, banks and other lending institutions, commodity traders and food processors.
• The businesses that provide farmers with seeds, equipment, chemicals and other goods and services use the data when planning their marketing strategies.
• Analysts transform the statistics into projections of coming trends, interpretations of the trends' economic implications and evaluations of alternative courses of action for producers, agribusinesses and policymakers.
• Crop reports relating to acreage, yields, and production.

• Agricultural Resource Management Survey
• United States Census of Agriculture
• World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates
• Economic Research Service

• NASS Web site
• 7 U.S.C. § 2204g
• NASS in theFederal Register
• USDA Web site
• Census of Agriculture

• National statistical services
• United States Department of Agriculture agencies
• Federal Statistical System of the United States

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