LITTLE ROCK – During the first two weeks of September, growers of small grains around the country will receive survey forms from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
The agency is taking a comprehensive look into the 2018 production and supply of small grains, which include wheat, oats, barley and rye, according to a USDA news release.
“The small grains industry is an important part of Arkansas’s agriculture and it is crucial for all involved with the agriculture sector to have accurate data about this key sector of the economy,” said NASS Delta Regional Office Director Eugene Young. “We will contact more than 1,500 producers in Arkansas to accurately measure 2018 acreage, yield, and production for small grain crops. The data collected from this survey will also help set small grain acreage, yield, and production estimates at the county level, to be published in December 2018.”
NASS will contact Arkansas survey participants to gather information on their 2018 production of winter wheat and oats, as well as the quantity of corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat, and oats stored on farms. As an alternative to mailing the survey back, growers will have the option to securely respond to the survey online. Farmers who have not responded by Thursday, Aug. 30, may receive a phone call or visit from a NASDA representative who will help them fill out the survey form, according to the release.
As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law, according to the release.
Survey results will be published in several reports, including the annual Small Grains Summary and the quarterly Grain Stocks report, both to be released Sept. 28. All NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/. For details, call the NASS Delta Regional Office at 800-327-2970.
“NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture,” according to the release. “We invite you to provide occasional feedback on our products and services. Sign up at http://bit.ly/NASS_Subscriptions and look for the ‘NASS Data User Community’.”