|
The
Nebraska field office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS) is located in the Robert Denney Federal Building
, 100 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln , Nebraska . Its primary
purpose is to provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics
in service to U.S. and Nebraska agriculture. The Nebraska
field office collects and analyzes data from Nebraska farmers,
ranchers, and agribusinesses. Results of these efforts are
provided to USDA's Agricultural Statistics Board. This information
along with similar information from other states are combined
and analyzed at the national level in Washington , D.C. Results
are published in over 400 national reports released on a
predetermined schedule each year.
Information on crops, livestock, economics, demographics
and environmental indicators are reported and updated on
a regular basis. Crop production is forecast on many crops
during critical reproductive stages of development. Actual
crop production is estimated and published once crops have
been harvested. Stocks of grains and oilseeds are estimated
on a quarterly basis. The stocks of grains and oilseeds can
be combined with production to provide critical supply information.
Similarly, livestock inventories, slaughter, and cold storage
stocks are reported on a regular basis to provide the basic
supply information. This supply information is vital to the
whole agricultural complex because it creates a level playing
field with unbiased information released to everyone at the
same time.
Periodic updates of economic information are critical in
the development of agricultural policy and in forecasting
of future price trends. Environmental indicators, such as
chemical usage, are utilized by scientists to make critical
decisions on pesticide registration and approval. Also, once
every five years the Census of Agricultural is taken to provide
consistent, comprehensive agricultural and demographic information
at the county level across this nation.
One of the services this office provides to Nebraska agriculturalists
is to combine recently released official statistics about
our state, surrounding states, and national totals in a twice
monthly release titled Nebraska
Agri-Facts . Another Nebraska
release is the Crop
Progress and Condition published
weekly from early spring until harvest is wrapped up in the
fall. Cattle
Feeders' News, a monthly publication, consolidates the
national Cattle on Feed report. Paper or internet subscriptions
are available for the Nebraska releases. Of course, all of
the data can be accessed directly from national publications
or from the Quick
Stats: Agricultural Statistics Data Base .
This database contains a complete history, since official
estimates began, for most items.
Another service provided is assistance in locating published
data and providing an explanation of the data source. With
the extensive amount of data available, it is often necessary
to consult with one of our agricultural statisticians. Please
feel free to contact our office if you are having problems
finding appropriate information.
The Nebraska farmers and ranchers are thanked for their
continued voluntary participation in the many surveys conducted
each year. Also thanked are the dedicated personnel tabulating
and publishing the statistics for Nebraska agriculture. Included
in this group are the field and office enumerators who work
directly with producers to accurately record the data.
Sincerely,
Joe Parsons
Director
|