During the first two weeks of March, selected farmers in Minnesota will receive the March 1 Agricultural Survey from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

NASS is taking a comprehensive look into the planting intentions for the upcoming 2016 growing season, as well as collecting information about grains and oilseeds stored on farms.

Minnesota farmers to be surveyed by USDA about planting intentions

“Each year, the agriculture industry eagerly awaits USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, which provides USDA’s first survey-based estimates of farmers’ planting intentions for the year,” said Dan Lofthus, NASS’s Minnesota state statistician. “The March Agricultural Survey provides the factual data that underpins these projections, making it one of the most important surveys we conduct each year.”

NASS will be asking producers to provide information about the types of crops they intend to plant in 2016, how many acres they intend to plant and the amount of grain and oilseeds they store on their farms. NASS encourages producers to respond online or by mail.

Those producers who do not respond by the deadline may be contacted for a telephone or personal interview.

NASS will compile and analyze the survey information and publish the results in the annual Prospective Plantings report and quarterly Grain Stocks report, both to be released on March 31.

As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential, as required by federal law. NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified. These and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.

For more information call the NASS Minnesota Field Office at (651) 728-3113.