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HOW MANY SMALL FARMS? AG CENSUS WILL TELL
Occupational Health and Safety
http://ohsonline.com/articles/2012/01/09/how-many-small-farms.aspx?admgarea=news
Jan 9 2012
The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service will conduct the
next Census of Agriculture in the latter half of 2012. Meanwhile,
it is helping Serbia and Armenia prepare for their own censuses.
There were 2.2 million U.S. farms counted in the 2007 Census of
Agriculture, which was 4 percent more than the 2002 census had
counted. Most of the growth was in small farms where no single
commodity accounted for more than 50 percent of the total value of
production, according to Larry Sivers, National Agriculture Statistics
Service International Programs Office Director, in his Jan. 3 post
on the USDA blog. He wrote about the upcoming 2012 census that NASS
will conduct and its work in December with the Republic of Serbia and
the Republic of Armenia to help them prepare for their own censuses
of agriculture.
U.S. farm numbers generally have declined since World War II, according
to NASS, but the smallest category -- farms with sales of less than
$1,000 - increased by 118,000 from 2002 to 2007, while the number
with sales above $500,000 increased by 46,000. The smallest farms,
those with 10 or fewer workers, are exempt from OSHA enforcement.
Serbia will conduct its first census of agriculture in 50 years
starting in October 2012, Sivers wrote, adding that Bob Hale from
NASS's International Programs Office and Krissy Young from NASS's
Public Affairs Section attended the Third Annual Extension Conference
in Zlatibor, Serbia and discussed communications for the Serbian 2012
census. The Armenian government hosted Mike Steiner from the NASS
International Programs Office and Chris Messer, chief of NASS's Program
Administration Branch, for a seminar as they prepare to collect data
from producers through the first agricultural census in that country
in more than 90 years, Sivers wrote.
"International projects like these, supported by reimbursable funding,
go beyond just helping the host country. They are learning experiences
for NASS as well," he concluded. "As staff work with other statistical
organizations they are exposed to new and different methodologies
that broaden their experience. They can then apply these experiences
to challenges at home to improve service to U.S. agriculture. Very
importantly, projects like these help U.S agriculture by contributing
to more accurate information on world agricultural supply and demand
to make better marketing decisions for U.S. products."
Occupational Health and Safety
http://ohsonline.com/articles/2012/01/09/how-many-small-farms.aspx?admgarea=news
Jan 9 2012
The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service will conduct the
next Census of Agriculture in the latter half of 2012. Meanwhile,
it is helping Serbia and Armenia prepare for their own censuses.
There were 2.2 million U.S. farms counted in the 2007 Census of
Agriculture, which was 4 percent more than the 2002 census had
counted. Most of the growth was in small farms where no single
commodity accounted for more than 50 percent of the total value of
production, according to Larry Sivers, National Agriculture Statistics
Service International Programs Office Director, in his Jan. 3 post
on the USDA blog. He wrote about the upcoming 2012 census that NASS
will conduct and its work in December with the Republic of Serbia and
the Republic of Armenia to help them prepare for their own censuses
of agriculture.
U.S. farm numbers generally have declined since World War II, according
to NASS, but the smallest category -- farms with sales of less than
$1,000 - increased by 118,000 from 2002 to 2007, while the number
with sales above $500,000 increased by 46,000. The smallest farms,
those with 10 or fewer workers, are exempt from OSHA enforcement.
Serbia will conduct its first census of agriculture in 50 years
starting in October 2012, Sivers wrote, adding that Bob Hale from
NASS's International Programs Office and Krissy Young from NASS's
Public Affairs Section attended the Third Annual Extension Conference
in Zlatibor, Serbia and discussed communications for the Serbian 2012
census. The Armenian government hosted Mike Steiner from the NASS
International Programs Office and Chris Messer, chief of NASS's Program
Administration Branch, for a seminar as they prepare to collect data
from producers through the first agricultural census in that country
in more than 90 years, Sivers wrote.
"International projects like these, supported by reimbursable funding,
go beyond just helping the host country. They are learning experiences
for NASS as well," he concluded. "As staff work with other statistical
organizations they are exposed to new and different methodologies
that broaden their experience. They can then apply these experiences
to challenges at home to improve service to U.S. agriculture. Very
importantly, projects like these help U.S agriculture by contributing
to more accurate information on world agricultural supply and demand
to make better marketing decisions for U.S. products."