This section presents statistics on farms
and farm operators; land use; farm
income, expenditures, and debt; farm output,
productivity, and marketings; foreign
trade in agricultural products; specific
crops; and livestock, poultry, and their
products.
The principal sources are the reports
issued by the National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS) and the Economic
Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. The information from
the 1997 Census of Agriculture is available
in printed form in the Volume 1, Geographic
Area Series; in electronic format
on CD-ROM; and on the Internet site
<http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/>.
The Department of Agriculture publishes
annually Agricultural Statistics, a general
reference book on agricultural production,
supplies, consumption, facilities, costs,
and returns. The ERS publishes data on
farm assets, debt, and income on the
Internet site <http://www.ers.usda.
gov/briefing/farmincome/>. Sources of
current data on agricultural exports and
imports include Foreign Agricultural
Trade of the United States, published by
the ERS, and the reports of the U.S. Census
Bureau, particularly U.S. Imports of
Merchandise on CD-ROM, and U.S. Exports
of Merchandise on CD-ROM.
The 45 field offices of the NASS collect
data on crops, livestock and products,
agricultural prices, farm employment, and
other related subjects mainly through
sample surveys. Information is obtained
on some 75 crops and 50 livestock items
as well as scores of items pertaining to
agricultural production and marketing.
State estimates and supporting information
are sent to the Agricultural Statistics
Board of NASS which reviews the estimates
and issues reports containing state
and national data. Among these reports
are annual summaries such as Crop Production,
Crop Values, Agricultural Prices,
and Livestock Production, Disposition and
Income. For more information about concepts
and methods underlying USDA’s statistical
series, see Major Statistical Series
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(Agricultural Handbook No. 671), a
12-volume set of publications.