|
You are here: Home /
|
|
|
|
|
The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The agency's primary responsibility is to prepare official estimates of agriculture for the nation, and for each state. There are 45 Field Offices that serve all 50 states. The Alaska State Field Office is the Alaska Agricultural Statistics Service, located in Palmer, Alaska.
Field Offices collect, verify, and analyze data which are used to prepare statistical estimates. Farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses are the grassroots source of information, collected through voluntary surveys conducted by each state Field Office throughout the year. Survey data are collected and summarized at the state level to provide statistical indications. These indications are analyzed by statisticians in each state Field Office who then make recommendations to the national headquarters in Washington , D.C. . Statisticians in headquarters review the state recommendations and issue the state and national estimates to the public on scheduled dates throughout the year. About 300 national and 9,000 state reports are issued annually. Cooperative agreements with State governments also permit preparation and publication of county-level estimates of crops and livestock for many states. In addition, many Field Offices conduct surveys for other government agencies and private organizations.
Alaska Agricultural Statistics publishes several reports which are available by subscription. These reports include:
- Weekly information on crop development, published throughout the growing season.
- Potato Stocks Report (October - June)
- Monthly Farm Reporter which includes monthly Alaska milk production, Alaskan potato stocks, Alaska acreage and production data, livestock data and selected national statistics.
- An annual bulletin which includes most of the estimates published by the Field Office during the year and presents multiple years of data for most series.
If you would like to subscribe to these publications, download or print the subscription form and mail it to:
Alaska Agricultural Statistics Service
P.O. Box 799
Palmer, AK 99645-0799
In addition to mailed subscriptions, Email subscriptions are available for some reports. Currently, the Weekly Crop-Weather is the only report available. As other Email subscriptions become available, the information will be posted here. |
Alaska 's Agriculture
Alaska is the largest state in the union, covering 586,000 square miles. Land in farms covers 0.2% of the land in the state. Agriculture is found in many areas of the state. The Tanana Valley , from Fairbanks to Delta Junction, produces much of the state's barley and oats, as well as hay, potatoes , milk, greenhouse plants and vegetables. The Matanuska Valley , which is northeast of Anchorage , produces much of the state's potatoes and vegetables as well as milk, oats, hay, greenhouse plants and vegetables . Many of Alaska 's beef cattle are found on the Aleutian chain of islands. The Seward Peninsula is home to many of Alaska 's reindeer. Other areas that have commercial agriculture include parts of Kodiak Island , the Kenai Peninsula , and the Copper River Valley near Kenny Lake . Alaska 's Division of Agriculture conducts land sales in these and other areas in an effort to stimulate agricultural production in the State. Aquaculture is a fast growing industry in the State. Many aquaculture operations are found in the Southeast, the Kenai Peninsula , and in Cook Inlet near Anchorage.
Alaska's cash receipts from farm marketings was approximately
$64.2 million for 2006. Livestock and specialty products totaled
$39.4 million. The value of crops was $24.9 million. The top
five Alaskan commodities in terms of cash receipts are aquaculture,
greenhouse and nursery production, vegetable production, hay
production and cattle and calves production.
|
|
| |
