2012 Census of Agriculture County Profiles Available

The County profiles for the Census of Agriculture are now available from the USDA! Click on this link to select the county in NY you are interested in seeing !

In the meantime here are two simple pie charts about farm land in Herkimer and Oneida Counties that come from the profiles.

Herkimer County

 

Oneida County

2012 Census of Agriculture NOW AVAILABLE !

The 2012 Census of Agriculture is now available and can be accessed through the US Department of Agriculture website. While county profiles are not yet available, you can look at breakouts by county by state, so it's just a matter of going through some of the pages to find Herkimer and Oneida County data.

Below is just a small table of data I pulled out from the 2012 Census of Agriculture and some comparatives form the last time it was done in 2007. Visit the USDA site and find out more about our regions vital farming community.

Click to Enlarge

Historical Food System Data: The Mohawk Valley Food Action Network

The work of the Mohawk Valley Food Action Network (MVFAN) is based on the premise that the food system - farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, restaurants, emergency food programs, consumers, as well as the businesses and agencies that support them - comprises a network that has uniquely important and interrelated impacts on the health of our environment, our economy, and individuals. 

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County received a two-year $100,000 USDA Hunger Free Communities grant which ran from March 2011 through March 2013. This grant supported a broad assessment of the local food system, as well as the formation of a local Food Policy Advisory Council.   The results of that food system assessment are summarized in the final grant report from MVFAN.

Among the interesting data provided in the assessment is historical local farm production data going back to 1969. This link gets you to their production graphics and data section of the report, which is filled with breakdowns by various years and by several counties (including Herkimer and Oneida) in central New York. Here's just a couple samples of the types of things you can find there! 

Looking Back - the 2007 Census of Agriculture Data for Herkimer and Oneida Counties

The Census of Agriculture is the leading source of facts and figures about American agriculture. Conducted every five years, the Census provides a detailed picture of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the United States.

The last Census of Agriculture was conducted in 2007. Below are two pages for both Herkimer and Oneida Counties covering everything from the number of farms, the market value, the government payments, top crops grown and some basic demographics of farm operators. Some comparatives are offered with the 2002 CoA as well.

Herkimer County Agriculture 2007 Summary

Oneida County Agriculture 2007 Summary

Gearing Up for 2012 Census of Agriculture

Surveys are now arriving in mailboxes around the nation to help identify all active farms in the United States. The National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS), which asks landowners whether or not they are farming and for basic farm information, is one of the most important early steps used to determine who should receive a 2012 Census of Agriculture report form. The Census of Agriculture, conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.

“We are asking everyone who receives the NACS to respond even if they are not farming so that we build the most accurate and comprehensive mailing list to account for all of U.S. agriculture in the Census,” said NASS’s Census and Survey Director, Renee Picanso. “The Census is the leading source of facts about American agriculture and the only source of agricultural statistics that is comparable for each county in the nation. Farm organizations, businesses, government decision-makers, commodity market analysts, news media, researchers and others use Census data to inform their work.”

NACS is required by law as part of the U.S. Census of Agriculture. By this same law, all information reported by individuals is kept confidential. NASS will mail the 2012 Census of Agriculture later this year and data will be collected into early 2013.

“The NACS survey is the first step in getting a complete count, so we ask everyone who receives a survey to complete and return it,” said Picanso. “The Census is a valuable way for producers and rural America to show their strength – in numbers.”

The 2012 Census of Agriculture is your voice, your future, your responsibility. For more information about NACS, the Census of Agriculture, or to add your name to the Census mail list, visit the Census of Agriculture webpage