NEWS

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has started mailing the 2017 Census of Agriculture to America’s horse farms. Mailing in phases, all census questionnaires should be received by late December. If you do not receive a questionnaire this year, or have not received one ever, but wish to be included, you can sign up at https://www.agcounts.usda.gov/legacy0/cgi-bin/counts. Producers can respond online at www.agcensus.usda.gov or by mail. The American Horse Council encourages all qualified operations to participate and be counted. The deadline to respond is February 5, 2018.

Conducted once every five years, the census aims to get a complete and accurate picture of American agriculture. The resulting data are used by trade associations, researchers, policymakers, extension educators, agribusinesses, and many others. The data can play a vital role in community planning, farm assistance programs, technology development, farm advocacy, agribusiness setup, rural development, and more. This information may provide a critical snapshot of the equine industry that, when coupled with the AHC Economic Impact Study, will provided the evidence needed to affect important change here in Washington D.C.

For more information, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call (800) 727-9540.

-- via American Horse Council