2-16-18 ag census

The Wisconsin Ag secretary is reminding farmers to return their Ag Census if they haven’t already done so.   The Census is a complete count of America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them.  While the initial deadline passed earlier this month, the U.S. National Agricultural Statistics Service is still accepting questionnaires.  State statistician Greg Bussler  says its important for farmers to fill out the form. Bussler says the information is used by a number of organizations.  He says the information will have an impact locally.  “Its not only used at the federal level, but it gets used at the local level,”  Bussler told WFDL news.  “Different commodity groups use the data  to get funding for roads and that type of thing.”  State Ag secretary Sheila Harsdorf says the data is used by policy makers to make decisions about farm policy and budget allocations.  Harsdorf says the more responses submitted by Wisconsin farmers, the more accurate the data will reflect what is happening in the state’s fields and barns.