How many acres will be planted to cotton and peanuts in Georgia? What will spring planting conditions mean for American agriculture? To gather reliable objective information, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be surveying farmers for the June Agricultural Survey.

There is always speculation about each new crop season and agricultural producers are the main source for the facts.

“If we speak up and answer the questions about the 2001 crop season, we can reduce uncertainty in the agriculture marketplace,” says Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin.

The Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service will be conducting the survey and a representative will contact local producers between May 30 and June 16. Some respondents will be chosen from sample areas of land identified on aerial photographs. This survey is particularly vital because it will provide the first clear indications of the potential production of major commodities in 2001.

The information gathered is widely used. Producers rely on the data to reach valid production, marketing, and investment decisions. Industry analysts, extension agents, and farm organizations use the information in a variety of ways that benefit farmers.

“We safeguard the confidentiality of all survey responses,” Dave Abbe, Georgia's State Statistician says. “Information from individual operations is combined with other responses to provide the needed data.” NASS works with farmers and ranchers to provide meaningful, accurate, and objective statistics that help keep U.S. agriculture informed.

All agricultural statistics, including the June 29 Acreage report, published by NASS are available at www.usda.gov/nass/. For more information, call 1 (800) 253.4419