WASHINGTON, D.C. – The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has extended the deadline for farmers to fill out the 2022 Census of Agriculture through the spring.

“There’s still time to respond and they will be counted if they get the form into us as soon as possible,” said David Knopf, regional director of the NASS Eastern Mountain Regional Field Office. “We want to make sure anyone who responds is counted.”

The original response deadline was Feb. 6.

As of March 6, the nationwide response rate for the census was 43 percent, Knopf said. Illinois had 53 percent; Indiana, 51 percent; Iowa, 53.8 percent; Kentucky, 38.8 percent; Michigan, 47.3 percent; Ohio, 51.5 percent; and Tennessee, 46.1 percent.

“We’d love to have more responses at this point, but we do appreciate the responses that we’ve had,” he noted. “These numbers are typical for generally where we are at this point. They may be tracking a little behind 2012 and 2007, but not 2017.”

The response rate for the 2017 census was nearly 72 percent, down from 74.5 percent for the 2012 census. Producers are required by federal law to respond.

The census is conducted every five years. 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, NASS said.

Those who are no longer farming, or who don’t meet the $1,000 threshold, are asked to indicate that on the questionnaire and return it, Knopf said. The data supplied by farmers is confidential.

Farmers who meet the requirements to submit information but didn’t receive a form may request one from NASS, he said.

NASS is in the process of sending out second forms to those who didn’t respond to the initial mailing, Knopf said. The agency has begun calling some producers to encourage them to participate, he added.

“This data is so important in terms of so many different aspects of agriculture,” Knopf noted. “On the policy level, USDA conducts programs or makes decisions based on data from farm producers.

“The information in the census gets down to the county level, not just the state level. For programs at the state level, such as Specialty Crop Block Grants, decisions are based directly off census data for those specialty crops. The data is regularly needed to make good decisions for agriculture.”

Knopf said he’s looking forward to seeing demographic data on the age and gender of farmers. Kentucky has devoted money to increase specialty crop production in the state and he said he’s also looking forward to seeing that data.

Hubert Hamer, NASS administrator, said in a release, “We want all producers to use their voices to help shape the future of American agriculture. Census data inform decisions about policy, farm and conservation programs, infrastructure and rural development, research, education and more. The stronger the response, the stronger the data.”

NASS plans to release the census results in February 2024. For more information, visit www.nass.usda.gov/agcensus.