Spring foods infographic (click for larger version) with more facts, figures and food safety tips.
Although in some parts of the country record snow fall and colder temperatures have masked it—spring is officially here. With the change of seasons come traditions and observances that date back to ancient times, many focused on growth, new life and change. Among these traditions are some holiday and seasonal mainstays that evolved because of more practical reasons, like the process involved in making them or their chemical properties. Read more »
For a decade, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and community-based organizations (CBOs) have placed a high priority on improving the coverage and response of minority and hard-to-reach farm and ranch operators in the Census of Agriculture. CBOs partner with NASS to help reach these underserved agricultural producers and encourage them to participate in the Census. As the CBOs educate and motivate the producers they serve to complete their Census forms, these producers become part of the data that represent the accurate picture of agriculture across the nation. The partnerships are serving both the CBOs’ mission of providing service to every producer and NASS’s goal of counting every farmer and rancher in the Census of Agriculture. In the following blog, one of NASS’s longstanding CBO partners, Ralph Paige, shares his thoughts on the importance of the ongoing 2012 Census of Agriculture. Read more »
Barbara Rater visited the Republic of Georgia to assist with Georgian Census of Agriculture.
This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research profile.
2013 is the International Year of Statistics. As part of this global event, every month this year USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will profile careers of individuals who are making significant contributions to improve agricultural statistics in the United States.
March is National Women’s History Month, celebrating women’s many accomplishments throughout history. And 2013 is the International Year of Statistics, in which countries and organizations around the world mark the power and impact of statistics. Together, these two celebrations touch me on a personal level. After all, only several decades ago, there were virtually no female statisticians, while today, more than half the staff at the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), where I work, is female. Read more »
NASS’ Donald Buysse demonstrates the newly updated EDR to complete the Census of Agriculture survey online.
This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research profile.
2013 is the International Year of Statistics. As part of this global event, every month this year USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will profile careers of individuals who are making significant contributions to improve agricultural statistics in the United States.
Although the first Census of Agriculture dates back to 1840, the way the data is collected is most assuredly not stuck in the past. Historically, the main mode of data collection for the ag census has been by mail. There is one reason for this – it has always been cheaper! With advancements in technology, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has tapped into more cost-efficient ways to collect information. Read more »
Infographic highlighting the history, anatomy and market of corned beef & cabbage. Click to enlarge image.
For most of us in the U.S., corned beef and cabbage is synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day. But its association with the holiday isn’t an Irish tradition. It is a uniquely American tradition, a blending of both history and opportunity. Read more »
A statistician’s work is never done. Just as we are starting to wrap up data collection for the 2012 Census of Agriculture, interviewers representing the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) are already visiting thousands of farmers across the United States to find out their 2013 planting intentions.
While all of our surveys are important in their own right, the March Agricultural Survey stands out. For those not familiar with our reports, the Prospective Plantings is one of the most anticipated publications of the year. Commodity traders around the world wait for this report to give them an early indication of the upcoming year’s U.S. crop production. As a result, the information that producers report to NASS can impact business decisions of input providers, farmers, agricultural lenders and others, as well as commodity prices. Read more »
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