|
Become a friend of the Klamath Bucket Brigade All donations are tax deductible |
|
This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
Feds Ready Census Packet for Farmers
December
26, 2007
By Susan Montoya
Bryan, Associated Press Writer sbryan@ap.org
Albuquerque, New Mexico (AP) - Just as the crush of Christmas cards and
holiday packages in the mail dwindles, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture is gearing up to send census forms to millions of farmers
and ranchers nationwide.
The
forms will be mailed Friday and should hit mailboxes next week.
Federal
officials are imploring farmers and ranchers to fill out the forms so
they can check "the heartbeat of agriculture," said Jim
Brueggen, head of the
"Bottom
line is, if they want to have a voice in their future, here it is. It is
that report," he said. "Complete it, get it in and get your
message in there."
The
agriculture census is taken every five years, and the data collected
plays a key role in the development of the farm bill and other federal
policy. It also can lead to changes in the marketplace and affect the
business decisions of farmers and ranchers.
Brueggen
has spent countless days this fall trying to get out the word about the
census to as many
Completed
forms are due by
The
census looks at everything from production numbers for 2007 and the age
of a farmer's equipment to whether farmers and ranchers have to hold
down second jobs.
"What
is their situation? If they're struggling, what are the issues that need
to be addressed?" said Brueggen, who has worked for the agency for
more than three decades.
The
USDA says the census is the responsibility of all farmers and ranchers,
regardless of the size or type of their operations. The agency
considers a farm or ranch any place that normally produces or sells
$1,000 or more of agricultural products during the census year.
The
last census, in 2002, has been criticized by some for undercounting
minorities, including American Indians. Reservations, for example, were
historically reported as single entities for agricultural production. As
a result, thousands of farms and ranches weren't counted, Brueggen said.
He
said the agency has been working with tribes to get a more accurate
count this time.
Brueggen
has visited the Navajo Nation, the country's largest Indian reservation,
to promote the census, and workers will traverse the reservation to help
with the count.
Audie
Greybear, a spokesman for the Navajo Nation's Division of Community
Development, said the tribe's chapters will help census workers locate
the many farmers and ranchers who operate on the sprawling reservation,
which spans parts of
He
estimated there are tens of thousands of Navajos who grow crops and
raise livestock.
"That's
why they want to do a more detailed count so that really when it comes
down to funding agencies at the national level, they'll see that it's
not just one giant commodity," Greybear said.
Brueggen
also is working with a Hispanic agriculture organization in southern
"We
are trying to make sure we get everyone included," he said.
"And this is an effort all across the
---
On
the Net:
U.S.
Department of Agriculture 2007 Census: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov
Copyright 2007, The
Associated Press.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those
who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FARM_SCENE_COUNTING_