producers

Data collected from farmers and ranchers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) allows for timely and accurate statistics that help our customers – U.S. farmers and ranchers, among many others – make informed business decisions. These vital data also affect farm policy, influence trade and the market, as well as academic and historical research. Producing these statistics depends on a positive survey experience for our customers.

The Glacial Lake Cranberries farm, located in Cranmoor, Wisconsin, has been in Mary Brown’s family since 1923. Her 6,000 acres consists of 330 acres of cranberries, 2,600 acres of forest, and 3,000 acres of reservoirs that support the cranberry acres. Her 96 fruit beds produce 10 million pounds of fruit yearly. She runs the operation with her son, Stephen, four employees that live on the property year-round, seasonal staff, and help from family.

It takes a village to get those red ripe watermelon or sweet ears of corn to the neighborhood grocery store at the right time for consumers. Producers must decide when to plant and pick crops, package produce, find buyers and select the right shipper to transport products to market. Hundreds of people and thousands of decisions are needed to get the fruits and vegetables people love to stores at peak freshness. And to make sure everything gets done right, many producers and handlers rely on trusted resources from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

Oregon ranchers Dan and Suzy Probert grow cattle and healthy soil. And with the help of Farm Bill programs, they’re protecting the Lightning Creek Ranch from development as well as finding new revenue options like carbon trading markets.

Dairy producers have until June 1, 2018, to register for the new and improved Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy), which provides protection to dairy producers from shifting milk and feed prices.

Farming is a risky business. Natural disasters and extreme weather can have immediate and devastating effects on farms, crops and livestock. That’s why it’s critical for producers to better understand those risks and how to properly plan for them.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Although I don’t have the answer, I sure know that I enjoyed seeing both at the USDA Farmers Market last Friday while celebrating National Egg Day. One of the great things about farmers markets across the country is the opportunity to talk to farmers and learn more about our food. At Friday’s market, I had the opportunity to talk with Bill Schutte and Patti Lou Riker from Tall Cotton Farm – who produce grass-fed beef, pork, turkeys, chicken, and eggs located on their farm in Urbanna, Virginia.

Adversity isn’t a stranger to Florida citrus growers. Throughout Florida’s history of citrus production, producers have dealt with damages left in the wake of multiple hurricanes and freezes.

Larry Black is a fifth-generation citrus grower and general manager of Peace River Packing Company in Polk County, Fla. His family has been a part of the citrus industry for over a century, planting citrus trees when they settled in Fort Meade in 1852.

May is World Trade Month, a time set aside to acknowledge and reflect on the importance of global trade. But here at USDA, you could say that every month is “Trade Month” because few industries depend more upon – and benefit more from – trade than American agriculture.

April showers bring May flowers. That is what many would like to have seen Mother Nature deliver this spring. Instead, late April brought an onslaught of unusual weather across the country.

Excessive rainfall caused record-breaking floods in the central U.S., a blizzard pelted the High Plains, devastating tornadoes tore through Texas and wildfires continued to blaze in the southeast.