Beginning in late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct the 2023 Commercial Floriculture Survey (2022 production year) with approximately 2,700 producers throughout all 11 states in the Northeast. Growers will be asked to provide information on production area, sales of floriculture commodities, and the number of agricultural workers on their operations. Growers can complete the survey by mail, phone, or online at agcounts.usda.gov. If NASS does not receive a grower's completed questionnaire by January 30, a representative may reach out to arrange an interview.
"This information helps growers, buyers, government agencies, and others who can use the data to identify state and national trends, make plans, and determine the industry's impact on farm income and the economy," said King Whetstone, director of the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office. "By participating in the survey, floriculture growers ensure that NASS can provide accurate data on floriculture production, thereby enabling USDA and the industry to be more responsive to domestic and international markets and consumer needs."
This floriculture survey is a census of commercial floriculture operations that annually produce and sell at least $10,000 worth of fresh cut flowers, potted flowering plants, foliage plants, annual bedding and garden plants, herbaceous perennials, cut cultivated florist greens, propagative floriculture material and unfinished plants.
Beginning last year, the survey went from covering the 17 main producing states to all 50 states, with the top 28 (Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticutt, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minneosta, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin) published individually and the remaining states combined into an "other states" total.
In accordance with federal law, survey responses are kept confidential. Survey data will be available in aggregate form only to ensure that no individual producer or operation can be identified.
NASS will publish the survey data May 25.
For more information, call the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office at (800) 498-1518.
Categories: Pennsylvania, Government & Policy