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Agriculture Survey is an Opportunity to Provide the Facts


Wheat seedings have progressed well ahead of normal this fall, but the lack of moisture has slowed germination and growth. What affects will the dry weather have on seedings and will producers plant more or less acres to winter wheat? Are Tennessee's cattle numbers going up or down? To gather reliable, objective information to answer these questions, the Tennessee Agricultural Statistics Service (TASS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be surveying farmers and ranchers for the1998 Fall Agricultural Survey.

Producers help bring the overall agricultural picture into focus by providing survey information. "If we take this opportunity to speak up and provide the facts about agriculture, we can greatly reduce the uncertainty in the marketplace," says Gene Danekas, State Statistician.

The Tennessee Agricultural Statistics will be conducting the Survey between mid-November and mid- December. During this period representatives of TASS will contact about 2,100 farms who have been chosen for the survey. This survey is particularly vital because it will provide the first clear indications of the potential production of winter wheat and livestock inventories for 1999.

The information gathered is widely used. Producers themselves rely on the data to reach vital production, marketing, and investment decisions. Industry analysts, extension agents, and farm organizations use the information in a variety of ways that benefit agriculture.

NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all survey responses. Information from individual operations is only
used in the combination with other responses to provide summary data.

Tennessee producers taking part in the survey will ensure that all farmers are provided with meaningful, and objective statistics that help keep U.S. agriculture informed.

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