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| United States Census of Agriculture | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Census |
| Frequency | Quinquenial |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1840; 185 years ago (1840) |
| Most recent | 2022 |
| Organized by | National Agricultural Statistics Service |
| Website | agcensus |
TheCensus of Agriculture is acensus conducted every five years by theU.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) that provides the only source of uniform, comprehensiveagricultural data for everycounty in theUnited States.
The census is a complete count of U.S.farms andranches and the people who operate them. The Census looks atland use andownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures and many other areas. This picture, when compared to earlier censuses, helps to measure trends and new developments in the agricultural sector of the nation's economy.
Title 7 of the United States Code requires all those who receive a census report form to respond – even if they did not operate a farm or ranch during the census year. The same law protects theconfidentiality of all census respondents. NASS uses the information only forstatistical purposes and publishes data only in tabulated totals. The report cannot be used for purposes oftaxation, investigation orregulation. Theprivacy of individual census records is also protected from disclosure through theFreedom of Information Act.
For census purposes, a farm is defined as a place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. This farm definition has changed nine times throughout history and the current definition has been in effect since 1974.
The first Census of Agriculture was taken in 1840 as part of thesixth decennial population census. The census remained a part of thedecennial census through 1950, with separate mid-decade Censuses of Agriculture taken in 1925, 1935 and 1945. As time passed, census years were adjusted until the reference year coincided with the economic censuses covering other sectors of the nation'seconomy. Currently, the Census of Agriculture is conducted for years ending in 2 and 7.
The 1997 Census of Agriculture has historical significance because it was the first conducted by NASS after the 1997Appropriations Act shifted responsibility of the Census of Agriculture from theU.S. Census Bureau, which is part of theU.S. Department of Commerce, toUSDA.
Census data is used by all those who serve farmers andrural communities –federal,state andlocal governments,agribusinesses,trade associations and many others. For instance:
| Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment | ||
| Under Secretary for Rural Development | ||
| Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services | ||
| Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety | ||
| Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics | ||
| Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs | ||
| Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation |
| |
| Office of the Chief Financial Officer | ||
*Reports directly to the secretary of agriculture | ||
