Surveys. Most of us find them annoying. Many balk at filling them out. However, in agriculture there is one survey that everyone should take the time to complete and return — the USDA Census of Agriculture. Why?

Since 1840, the U.S. government has collected important census data on agriculture. The purpose of the Census of Agriculture is to account for all U.S. farms, and to summarize the characteristics of those farms and their operators at the national, state, and county levels. Information from the Census of Agriculture shapes programs that benefit farm groups. It gives a picture of the economic impact of agriculture in the country. It shows how much a state relies on agriculture. It offers a representation of who we are in the farming industry.

Ryan Milhollin, University of Missouri Extension economist, says federal, state and local governments as well as agribusinesses, researchers, trade associations and others use the data to serve farmers and rural communities. Data strengthen numerous farm groups, large and small, Milhollin says. They help policymakers see emerging trends such as young and beginning farmers and ranchers; women, veteran and minority farmers and ranchers; specialty crops; and organic production. This helps legislators make decisions that protect the future of agriculture, he says.

The USDA 2017 Census of Agriculture will arrive in mailboxes in December, or farmers and ranchers may complete the survey online.

USDA conducts the survey every five years. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive and impartial data for every county in the U.S., Milhollin says.

Law requires response. “Even in you are no longer farming, please return the census form,” says Robert Garino, Missouri state statistician for USDA in Columbia, Mo. Otherwise, USDA continues to follow up with mailed questionnaires, phone calls or visits from a USDA enumerator.

Find the survey online at agcensus.usda.gov. For more information, call 888-424-7828 or contact Garino at 573-876-0950.

The census should arrive in farmers’ mailboxes in December. The census website will continue to be updated with new information through the census response deadline of Feb. 5, 2018.