NASS and the FDL
Rich Allen
 Associate Administrator
October 21, 2002

What Does NASS Do?
• Administer USDA's Statistical Estimating Program and the 5-year Census of Agriculture
• Coordinate Federal/State Agricultural Statistical needs 
• Statistical consulting for other Federal/State or private organizations and other countries 
• Statistical Research
What Doesn't NASS Do?
• Set policy
• Regulate activities
• Permit influence
• Disclose individual reports
• Favor any group above others

What Doesn't NASS Do?
• International Statistics
• Daily, Weekly Market News
• Economic Interpretations
• Non-survey Projections

National Agricultural Statistics Service
• "Agriculture's FACT finders"

• Weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports	

• Census of agriculture (5 years) showcasing demographic and specialty agriculture data	
Types of Reports
• Weekly hatchery, crop conditions

• Monthly crop forecast, slaughter, cattle on feed inventories, etc. 

• Quarterly grain stocks, acreage reports, hog inventories, etc. 

• Annual crop production, livestock inventories, environmental estimates, farm production expenditures, etc. 	
Who Uses the Data? 
• Farmers and ranchers rely on NASS reports to make production and marketing decisions 

• Agribusinesses who provide farmers with seeds, equipment, chemicals, and other goods and services study NASS reports when planning their marketing strategies


Who Uses the Data? 
• Food processors, transportation providers, storage facilities, banks, and other financial institutions rely on NASS data

• Analysts use NASS statistics to make projections of coming trends and their economic implications

• Librarians and other researchers 

Who Uses the Data? 
• U.S. and State legislatures to make well-informed long-range plans and emergency decisions that affect farmers/ranchers

• Farm and Ranch associations to promote agriculture and protect member interests

NASS Web Site
• Internet presence since 1995
• Reports are posted immediately after release
• Paper copies are available for almost all NASS reports 
NASS Web Site
• Quick Stats
• Report Repository
• Current Information
• Special Links
NASS Web Site - Quick Stats
• U.S., State, county database
• Some data back to 1866 
• Data format options
NASS Web Site - Ag Chem Database
• Query database by crop, year, and active ingredient
• Data from 1990 - 2001 
• Cooperative effort  - NASS, Center for Integrated Pest Management, and USDA Regional Pest Management Centers
NASS Web Site - ESS
• USDA's Economic and Statistics System 
• Contract with the Mann Library 
• Archive reports since 1995
• Free e-mail subscriptions

• Over 400 National reports published annually
• Over 9,000 State-level reports annually
• Census reports for each State, Nation, and outlying areas 
Agricultural Statistics Board Calendar
What is the Census of Agriculture?
• Accounting of U.S. agricultural producers and production
• Only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every county in the Nation
• Taken every five years in years ending with 2 and 7













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