USDA to survey Va. cattle operations Jan. 1-12

In January the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey about 920 cattle operations in Virginia to provide an up-to-date measure of cattle inventories, according to a news release from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). The surveys were mailed last week in advance of data collection, which takes place Jan. 1-12, 2017.

“The survey results will help more than 23,000 Virginia cattle farms make critical marketing decisions,” Herman Ellison, Virginia state statistician, was quoted as saying in a press release. “Accurate information about the cattle inventory, marketings and placements will provide the future direction of the industry and a tool in planning the cattle operations future,” he added.

During the first two weeks of January, Virginia producers will have the opportunity to report their beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop, death loss and cattle on feed information. To make it as easy as possible for producers to participate in the survey, NASS offers the option of responding via the Internet, telephone, mail or a personal interview with a local NASS representative.

NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data in aggregate, ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.

The January Cattle report will be released Jan. 31, 2017. This and all Virginia NASS reports are available online at https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Virginia/ For m.ore information, call the NASS Virginia Field Office at 800-772-0670.