By KC Cole, Public Affairs

In just a few months, Chickasaw and other farmers and ranchers will have the opportunity to take part in the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Census captures a complete count of all U.S. farms, ranches and those who operate them.  
 
The findings of the Census are a valuable resource. Conducted every five years, the information collected helps farmers and officials make business, program and policy decisions.
 
“Government officials use the information learned from the Agriculture Census in many ways,” said Wilbert Hundl, Jr., Director of the NASS Oklahoma Field Office. “The findings of the Census are used by state and county officials to fund community infrastructure projects and agribusiness to make informed decisions based on the collected data.”
 
The last Census, conducted in 2007, counted more than 3 million farms and ranches in the United States spanning more than 922 million acres. American Indians made up 2.4 percent of this number, or roughly 80,000 farmers.
 
With just over an 88 percent increase in the number of Native American farm and ranch operators from the previous Census in 2002, the 2007 increase is due to the Census now counting all farmers on reservations as individual farming operations, instead of a single reservation as a single farm operation. The number of Native American farmers in the U.S. is expected to grow in the 2012 Census of Agriculture.
 
The method of counting individual tribal farmers allows them to be heard at the local, state and federal levels. To further understand Native American farmer’s needs, NASS places an emphasis on improving the count of this previously under represented population.
 
“We need to count all farmers and ranchers, regardless of their operation size or scope, including those of Native American heritage” said Hundl. “Beginning with the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the census data collection effort moved from a Reservation-based reporting, to an individual producer-based reporting, and also allowed producers to self-designate their origin across more than one category.”
 
As preparations continue for this year’s Census of Agriculture, the USDA-NASS calls on farmers and ranchers to share their stories, ask questions and talk to their fellow producers about the efforts to count them. Answers to the Census help grow America’s farm future, shape farm programs and boost services.
 
Census forms will be mailed in late December and responses are due by Feb. 4th, 2013. Producers also have the option to complete forms online.
 
For more information about the Census, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call 1-800-4AG-STAT (1-888-424-7828).