June Area Survey - Info

	June Area Survey
United States Department of Agriculture		National Agricultural Statistics Service
		May 2010

The June Area Survey is the one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys conducted each year by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The survey provides an in-depth look at land uses and agricultural activities across the United States, and serves as the foundation for many of NASS’s other data collection and reporting activities.

HOW ARE THE DATA COLLECTED?

The June Area Survey is conducted annually in all states except Alaska and Hawaii. NASS will collect data from nearly 50,000 producers on approximately 11,000 selected segments of land. Each segment covers approximately one square mile.

For two weeks, beginning the end of May, NASS representatives will use aerial photographs and visit each segment to determine how the land is used. They will also conduct personal interviews with the operators of any farm or ranch within the selected segment. The survey is designed to account for every acre of land and all agricultural activities and land uses within that area.

Data gathered during the June Area Survey includes:

• Crop acreage

• Biotech crop acreage

• Grain stocks

• Livestock and poultry inventory

• Farm numbers

• Cash rents

• Land values

• Value of sales

HOW IS THE INFORMATION USED?

The data collected in this survey provides the most timely, accurate and useful information on the current state of U.S. agriculture. The June Area Survey provides direct data, or is a critical component of data collection and estimation, for numerous NASS reports, including:

• Acreage (published in June)

• Land Values and Cash Rents (published in August)

• Small Grains (published in September)

• Farms, Land in Farms, and Livestock Operations (published in January)

• Sheep and Goats (published in January)

• Prospective Plantings (published in March)

• Cattle (published in January and July)

• Hogs and Pigs (published in March, June, September and December)

• Crop Production (published monthly, with an annual summary in January)

The information provided by survey respondents is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes data only in aggregate form, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.

All reports are available through the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540.