2027 Census of Agriculture

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE
For additional help, call 1-888-424-7828
Para ayuda adicional, llamar al 1-888-424-7828

FORM 27-A400(I)

INSTRUCTION SHEET
UNITED STATES 2027 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE
Your report is due February 21, 2028
Who Should Report?
A reply is requested from EVERYONE who receives a report
form, including persons who operated a farm, ranch, or other
agricultural operation in 2027, anyone who has any agricultural
activity, as well as those who were not involved in agriculture.
You may complete your report form online. Go to
www.agcounts.usda.gov and enter your unique 12-digit survey
code from the Census mailing label. More Census information is
on the Internet at www.agcensus.usda.gov.
If you do not return your report form, you will continue to
receive contacts from us.
If you were a landlord only and rented out all your land,
complete the front pageand the Conclusion on the back page of
the enclosed report form and return it in the preaddressed return
envelope. If you were a landlord but still operated other land
yourself, you should complete the entire report form for that land
which you operated.
Partial Year Operations - If you stopped farming, ranching, or
producing agricultural products during 2027, complete the report
form for the portion of the year that you did farm. Write “Stopped
farming during 2027” and the date you stopped below the address
area. Mail the completed report form in the return envelope. If
the person whose name is on the label was deceased during 2027,
complete the form for the portion of the year that they farmed,
and write a note.
Involved in More Than One Operation - If you made decisions
for more than one operation, you may have received a report
form for each operation. Provide information for each operation
on a separate form. To obtain additional report forms, or if you
have questions, please call the toll-free help line at 1-888-4247828.
Partnership Operation - Complete only ONE form for the
entire partnership's agricultural operation and include the entire
operation on that one form. If you made day-to-day decisions for
another operation, complete a report form for each separate
operation. We have listed all known partners below the address
area to assist in defining the operation. Make any necessary
corrections to these names.
If you owned farm or ranch land in 2027 that was idle and
NOT rented out, you should complete and return the report
form. If all the cropland was enrolled in conservation programs
like CRP, complete the form and include these acres.
Specialty Commodities - Horses, bees, elk, emus, mink, fish,
nursery, etc., are an important part of the agriculture industry.
Report for all commodities, regardless of the amount of
production or sales you had in 2027.
Land in Federal conservation programs in 2027 - If you had
land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetlands
Reserve Program (WRP), Farmable Wetlands Program (FWP),
or Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and you
made the decisions on the acres, include the conservation land on
the report form in Items 6-14, as appropriate.
Received More Than One Report Form for the Same
Operation - If you received more than one report form for the
same operation, complete only ONE form per operation. Write
"Duplicate" below the address area of each extra form. Return all
forms in the same return envelope with your completed form so
that we can correct our records.
Entering Your Responses - Use BLUE or BLACK INK only.
Enter your replies in the unit requested, i.e., acres, square feet,
etc. Convert fractions to decimals. Please print clearly and keep
numbers and letters within the white boxes. Mark all applicable
Yes/No and None boxes with an “X”.

SCREENING QUESTIONS
Items 1 – 4 - Answer each question to determine your operating
status. If you are a landlord, do not report any agricultural
activity for your tenant(s). Please complete the entire form if
any of the answers in Items 1-4 were a “yes.” If all answers were
“no” go to the Conclusion (Item 30) on the back page.
ACREAGE IN 2027
Your answers in this section will determine the land (Acres in
“THIS OPERATION”) referred to throughout the report form.
Include all land owned, rented, or used by you, your spouse, or
by the partnership, corporation, or organization named on the
front page of the form, regardless of location or use during 2027,
even if only for part of the year. Include cropland, non-tillable
land, land in government programs such as Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), etc.,
pastureland and rangeland, woodland and idle land, farmsteads,
buildings, and structures. Include only actively managed
tidelands. Exclude residential or commercial land. Report land in
whole acres.
Item 6a - Report all land owned in 2027 whether held under deed,
purchase contract or mortgage, homestead law, or as heir/heiress
or trustee of an undivided estate. Include all land owned by you
and/or your spouse, or by the partnership, corporation, or
organization named on the front of the report form.
Item 6b - Report all land rented or leased from others by you or
your operation. Include water area leased for aquaculture
production. Exclude land used under private, Government
grazing permits, or on a fee per head or animal unit month
(AUM) basis (Taylor Grazing, Section 3 Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and USDA Forest Service land). Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) Section 15 land leased by your
operation with a specified acreage tract should be included here
even though your fees to BLM are paid on an AUM basis.
Item 6c - Include all land rented out to others for any purpose if
it was part of the acreage reported in Items 6 and 7. Your
tenant(s) will receive a form to report production for the land they
rent. Do not report land placed in conservation programs as acres
rented to others. Do not report land used by others on a fee per
head or animal unit month (AUM) basis.
Item 7 - This is all land you operated at any time in 2027. Land
Use (Items 9-13) should be reported for these acres.
Item 7 Total acres equals zero (0) - After completing Item 6, if
the acres in Item 7, equal zero and you did not raise or own any
livestock, aquaculture, or poultry in 2027, write a description of
land use in the space by question 7. Complete the conclusion and
mail the report form in the return envelope.
LAND USE IN 2027
The total acres from Items 9 - 13 entered in Item 13 should equal
the total acres in Item 7. These acres represent “this operation”
for this census report. If these two numbers are not the same,
please GO BACK and CORRECT your figures. Do not report
any crops grown on land rented or leased to others or worked by
others on shares during 2027.
Land used for more than one purpose - Do not report the same
acreage in more than one of the listed categories. If part or all of
your land was used for more than one listed purpose in 2027,
report that land only in the first purpose listed. For example, if
you planted and harvested a grain crop and grazed the crop
residue in the fall, report the land in Item 9a, cropland harvested.
Do not report those acres again in Item 10c pasture or grazing
land.
CRP/WRP and other conservation programs - Report these
acres in the Items in this section that best describe them. For
example, CRP land may be reported in cropland harvested,
cropland idle, or woodland not pastured depending on its use.

Item 9a - Land maintained for orchards or vineyards is included
even if the crop failed or the trees or vines are not of bearing age.
Abandoned acres of orchards or vineyards which are not
maintained for production should be reported in Item 9d.
Harvested cropland includes acres of trees for fruit, nuts, and
berries along with acres of grape vines, Christmas trees, and short
rotation woody crops in production. Do not include the area
harvested for timber or firewood. If more than one crop was
harvested from the same land in 2027, report that land as
cropland harvested only once.
Item 9b - Include land you intended to harvest but had to abandon
or had the crop failed.
Item 9c - Include cropland left unseeded for the 2027 harvest and
tilled summer fallow, or treated with herbicides to control weeds
and conserve moisture. Include cropland summer fallowed in
2027 even though it may have been planted to wheat, etc., for the
2026 harvest.
Item 12 - Include tidelines actively managed for aquaculture
production, whether owned or rented from others. Include other
water area leased for the production of aquaculture.
Item 14 - Report all acres in the Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Farmable Wetlands
Program (FWP), or Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
(CREP) on September 30, 2027.
Item 15 - Enter the acres grown/harvested in 2027. Round
fractions to whole acres except for vegetables, potatoes, melons,
fruits/nuts and berries, where tenths should be reported.
Acres irrigated - Report the irrigated harvested acres only once,
even if the crop was irrigated multiple times during the growing
season.
Item 15a – Report acres from which field crops were harvested
in 2027. Report multiple cropped acreage only once. Grain,
oilseeds, and other field crops include but are not limited to corn,
soybeans, wheat, cotton, peanuts, hemp, hops, grass seeds, dry
edible beans, tobacco, sugar crops, etc. Exclude forage crops.
Item 15b – Report all land from which dry hay, haylage, grass
silage or greenchop was cut or forage was harvested in 2027.
Include hay and forage from alfalfa, wild or native grasses, and
hay or forage from clovers, small grains, soybeans, and peanuts.
Exclude straw, corn silage, and sorghum silage. Any pasture or
conservation land that had hay cut from it should be reported as
cropland in Item 9a.
Item 15c – Report acres in production for cultivated Christmas
trees cut or to be cut. Exclude wild harvested trees.
Items 15d – 15h – Exclude home gardens, personal or home use
crops.
Item 15d – Potatoes – Report acres of potatoes harvested. Do not
report potatoes in Item 15e, vegetables and melons.
Item 15e – Report acres from which vegetables, and melons were
harvested in 2027. Report multiple cropped acreage only once.
Exclude crops grown under protection and report those crops in
Item 15h. Exclude potatoes reported in Item 15d.
Item 15f and 15g – Report acres for bearing and nonbearing fruit
orchards, vineyards, nut trees and berries in 2027. Exclude
abandoned acres of orchards or vineyards.
Item 15h – Report any nursery, floriculture, or greenhouse crops,
including ornamental plants, flowers, mushrooms, aquatic plants,
sod, vegetable seeds grown under protective cover, food and
other crops grown under protective cover, flower seeds, or other
propagative materials grown for sale. Exclude finished plants
purchased from others and resold. Include Christmas trees only if
grown and sold live as nursery stock.
Item 16 - Report number of taps set for collecting maple syrup.
Item 17 – Grain Storage – Report the storage capacity of all

structures normally used to store whole grains or oilseeds on the
total acres operated in bushels. Exclude storage operated by
tenant(s).
LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY
Items 18a – 24 - Include all animals on this operation on
December 31, 2027 owned by you, raised by you under contract,
or kept by you for others. Report the total number sold or moved
during 2027 for each livestock item. Head raised under contract
for others and moved from your operation should be included in
the “Number sold or moved” column. For animals raised under
contract, indicate the type of animal in Item 20 as well as the
number moved under production contract in Item 20a.
Include animals owned by you on unfenced lands, National
Forest Land, Indian Reservation Land, cooperative grazing
association land, or rangeland administered by the Bureau of
Land Management on a per head, animal unit month (AUM), or
lease basis. Animals in transit on December 31, 2027, should be
reported by the person who had control of the animals on that day.
Animals on a fee per head or animal unit month (AUM) basis
should be reported by the animal owner and not the landowner.
Items 19a – 19h – Include poultry grown for others on a contract
basis. Poultry not listed such as roosters, ducks, etc. should be
reported in Item 19h, other poultry. Report the total number sold
or moved during 2027 for each poultry item. Head raised under
contract for others and moved from your operation should be
included in the “Number sold or moved” column. For poultry
raised under contract, indicate the type of poultry in Item 20 as
well as the number moved under production contract in Item 20a.
Items 19h – Report other poultry on this operation on
December 31, 2027 that were not reported in Items 19a – 19g.
Write the type of poultry. Include items such as roosters, ducks,
pheasants, etc.
PRODUCTION CONTRACTS (LIVESTOCK OR
POULTRY)
Item 20 - A production contract is an agreement between a
grower and contractor (integrator) that specifies that the grower
will raise an agricultural commodity and that the contractor will
provide certain inputs such as feed, livestock, etc. The grower
receives a payment or fee from the contractor, generally after
delivery, which is less than the full market price of the
commodity. Exclude marketing contracts, futures contracts,
forward contracts, or other contracts based strictly on price.
Item 20 - Specify commodity produced under a production
contract by checking the appropriate box. Do not check any
boxes for livestock or poultry not raised for others under
contract. If the type of contract livestock is not shown, check
“other” and write in the type of livestock raised under contract
such as ducks or feeder cattle.
Item 20a – Enter the number of head moved under production
contract for 2027.
SPECIALTY LIVESTOCK: EQUINE, AQUCULTURE,
HONEY BEES, AND OTHER
Item 21a – 21c – Exclude horses, ponies, and other equine owned
by this operation but stabled elsewhere. Report the number of
equine sold or moved from this operation in 2027 regardless of
ownership.
Item 22a- Report the number of bee colonies owned regardless of
location and the pounds of honey collected during 2027 whether
sold or not.
Item 23 – Report the total pounds of aquaculture sold or moved
in 2027. Include all types and sizes of aquaculture such as fry,
eggs, or food size fish for sales of distribution into the wild.
Include catfish, trout, baitfish, crustaceans, mollusks, ornamental
fish, sport or game fish, and other types of aquaculture such as
algae, alligators, etc. Convert units such as bushels, bags, or
gallons to pounds. Exclude wild caught fish.
Specify the type of aquaculture reported in Item 23c.

Items 24a – Report other livestock sold or moved from this
operation on during 2027 that were not reported in Items 18 – 23.
Write the type of livestock sold or moved in box beside Item 24a.
Include items such as bison, live mink, etc.
FARM LABOR
Item 25 - Report the number of paid and unpaid farm or ranch
workers who performed agricultural labor on this operation in
2027. Exclude contract labor except where specifieD. Include
family members (paid and unpaid). Include workers such as
bookkeepers, office workers, maintenance workers, etc., if their
work was primarily associated with agricultural production on
this operation.
Item 25a - Include any short term or temporary workers who may
have worked only a few days. Exclude contract labor.
Item 25b – Include any workers who may have worked 150
days or more. Exclude contract labor.
SALES AND FEDERAL FARM PROGRAM PAYMENTS
Item 26 – Include sales of all crops, livestock, poultry and
livestock products (milk, eggs, etc.) sold in 2027. Include the
value of hay, silage, and other crops harvested in 2027, but not
sold. Include the value of all crops, livestock, and poultry
produced under contract in 2027. The total amount should
include payments from federal farm programs received in 2027.
Include landlord’s share of government payments and crops sold
in 2027.
Exclude dollars received on land rented to others.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
These questions collect information about the persons making
decisions for this operation. Complete one column for each
person involved in making decisions for the farming operation.
Item 27 - Enter the number of men and the number of women
involved in decisions for this operation. Do not report minor-aged
children who only worked on the farm.
Item 28 - Complete one column for each person involved in
making decisions for the farming operation for up to four
persons.. If there were more than four, answer for the four
individuals most involved in the decision making for this
operation.
CONCLUSION
Item 30 – If the operator printed on the front of the form has
sold/turnover or rented/leased out the operation, check the
appropriate box and provide the contact information of the new
operator/operation.
Item 31 - If the agricultural activity on your operation might be
identified under a different name than is printed on the front of
the form (for example, a farm name or another partner), please
provide these names and phone number.
Item 32 - All farms and ranches should receive their own forms
to complete. If you operated another farm or ranch, indicate
whether you received a form for that operation.