(NDAgConnection.com) – Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mailed an invitation to all known agriculture producers across North Dakota and the nation to respond online to the 2022 Census of Agriculture at agcounts.usda.gov. The ag census is the nation’s only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county, and territory. By completing the census, North Dakota producers can tell their story and help generate opportunities that better serve current and future generations of producers.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture will be mailed in phases, with paper questionnaires following in December. Producers need only respond once, whether securely online or by mail. The online option offers timesaving features ideal for busy producers. All responses are due Feb. 6. Farm operations of all sizes, urban and rural, which produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products in 2022, are included in the ag census.

Conducted every five years by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Census of Agriculture helps provide a complete picture of American agriculture. It highlights land use and ownership, producer characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures, among other topics. For 2022, new questions about the use of precision agriculture, hemp production, hair sheep and updates to internet access questions are included.

Responding to the Census of Agriculture is required by law under Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113. The same law requires NASS to keep all information confidential, to use the data only for statistical purposes, and only publish in aggregate form to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation. NASS will release the results of the ag census in early 2024.