April 14 - 15, 2021

12:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.

Virtual Meeting
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CONTENTS

f Contents

Agenda ........................................................................................................................................................ 3

Meeting Links............................................................................................................................................. 5

Agricultural Marketing Service .................................................................................................................. 6

Economic Research Service...................................................................................................................... 10

Foreign Agricultural Service..................................................................................................................... 18

World Agricultural Outlook Board........................................................................................................... 24

U.S. Census Bureau .................................................................................................................................. 27

National Agricultural Statistics Service.................................................................................................... 31
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2021 USDA Data Users’ Virtual Meeting 

April 14-15 

 

Live Webinar – All times are Eastern 

AGENDA

DAY 1 — APRIL 14

12:00 p.m. ........................................ Welcome and Overview ................................................... Joe Parsons 

National Agricultural Statistics Service

12:10 p.m. .............................................. Agency Reviews ............................................................................ 

Mike Lynch, Agricultural Marketing Service 

Kelly Maguire, Economic Research Service

Patrick Packnett, Foreign Agricultural Service 

Brad Karmen, Farm Service Agency

Mark Jekanowski, World Agricultural Outlook Board 

Joseph DeCampo, U.S. Census Bureau 

Dan Kerestes, National Agricultural Statistics Service

12:50 p.m. ............................................................................................................................................ Break

1:00 p.m. ....................................................................................................................... Breakout Session #1 

1:55 p.m. .............................................................................................................................................. Break

2:05 p.m. ....................................................................................................................... Breakout Session #2 

3:00 p.m. ...................................................................................................................................... Day 1 End 

DAY 1 BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Day 1 – April 14

All times Eastern Session A Session B

1:00pm

AMS Market News

Agricultural Marketing Service

Climate Information for Informed Decision Making

World Agricultural Outlook Board

1:55pm 10 Minute Break

2:05pm NASS Grain Stocks Program

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Foreign Production, Trade, and Import/Export Data

World Agricultural Outlook Board, Foreign 

Agricultural Service, and U.S. Census Bureau
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DAY 2 — APRIL 15

12:00 p.m. .................................................................................................................................Day 1 Recap

12:15 p.m. ........................................................Open forum for questions and comments from participants

1:45 p.m. ..............................................................................................................................................Break

2:00 p.m. .......................................................................................................................Breakout Session #3

3:00 p.m. ...................................................................................................................................... Day 2 End

DAY 2 BREAKOUT SESSION

Day 2 – April 15

All times Eastern Session A Session B

2:00pm NASS Modernization

National Agricultural Statistics Service

ERS Research

Economic Research Service
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MEETING LINKS

DAY 1 SESSION LINKS

Main Session – 12:00 pm ET

Register: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_GtwC6FADRE2fjlNVNvE2fA

Breakout 1 - 1:00 pm ET

Session A – AMS Market News

Join: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1612621342?pwd=NjRucG1Rc0hRS1Q0K3NWajhXSXBwZz09

Phone Only: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 | Webinar ID: 161 262 1342 | Passcode: 041255

Session B – Climate Information for Informed Decision Making

Join: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1607839900?pwd=RE8wZ2JNTHEyNDVTc0k0S1duRWJiZz09

Phone Only: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 | Webinar ID: 160 783 9900 | Passcode: 640593

Breakout 2 - 2:05 pm ET

Session A – NASS Grain Stocks Program 

Join: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1611025171?pwd=MFNHZWVUZGlORHlsbzYvM1N3MWVDQT09

Phone Only: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 | Webinar ID: 161 102 5171| Passcode: 640593

Session B – Foreign Production, Trade, and Import/Export Data

Join: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1600075884?pwd=WDFmUGMycXFFdEVpWU5BZGVGSTlzdz09

Phone Only: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 | Webinar ID: 160 007 5884 | Passcode: 493316

DAY 2 SESSION LINKS

Open Forum Session – 12:00 pm ET

Register: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_GtwC6FADRE2fjlNVNvE2fA

Breakout 3 - 2:00 pm ET

Session A – NASS Modernization 

Join: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1607319385?pwd=bGVxSE1vK09QRFdEU1RHMythVTNVUT09

Phone Only: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 | Webinar ID: 160 731 9385 | Passcode: 176983

Session B – ERS Research

Join: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1605513938?pwd=ZzZwZlZKQVJwTHFrS0d5blh6K2dVQT09

Phone Only: +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 | Webinar ID: 160 551 3938 | Passcode: 640593

MEETING MATERIALS

Video Recordings, Slides, and Q&A Transcripts will be available at:

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Education_and_Outreach/Meeting/index.php
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AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE

The mission of USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

is to facilitate the competitive and efficient marketing of agricultural products.

USDA DATA USERS SPRING MEETING 2021

AMS includes four commodity programs: Cotton and Tobacco; Dairy; Livestock and Poultry; and 

Specialty Crops. These programs provide standardization, grading, and market reporting services. They 

administer Federal laws such as the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act for livestock and dairy, oversee 

marketing agreements and orders, and administer research and promotion programs. In addition, AMS 

encompasses programs providing services spanning across commodity areas: Information Technology 

Service; Management and Analysis; Science and Technology; Commodity Procurement; Transportation 

and Marketing; National Organic Program; Federal Grain Inspection Service; and the Fair Trade Practices 

Program.

CURRENT ISSUES OF INTEREST

My Market News 

The Market Analysis & Reporting Services (MARS) and its public facing website, My Market News and 

related API continue to expand its offerings to data users in 2021. 

Market information for feedstuffs, retail, national feeder cattle summary, bioenergy, international imports 

and exports and the Specialty Crops commodities of truck rates, national trends, terminal market, shipping 

point and movement will transition to My Market News by the end of August 2021. It is anticipated that 

all currently available AMS Market News data sets will be moved to the new system within the next year.

In addition to the new commodities listed above, there will be updates coming to allow users to better 

identify corrected data sets both by report and through the My Market News API and Livestock Mandatory 

Reporting (LMR) API. Later this year, there will also be a web-based API released that will allow users 

to automatically pull down specific archived reports report files. AMS is in the process of deploying other 

updates to the My Market News website to remove outdated content and to allow the site to be more user 

friendly.

The Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News (LPGMN) program has begun the preliminary planning 

and requirements gathering to introduce a Market News Mobile App in 2021 that will run on both Android 

and IOS and offer the following features:
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• Search reports by Commodity, Offices, Market Types and Report Names

• Filter Search Results by Report Name or Slug, Report Year, Report Start and Report End dates

• Favorite / Unfavorite a Report

• The ability to share a report with others

• Subscribe to the Report to get notified when new report is available

• Find Previous Years’ Reports

• Reports for offices nearest to user’s current location.

Federal-State Cooperation

AMS Market News has Federal-State Cooperative Agreements with 30 states for commodity market 

reporting activities. These cooperative working relationships enable resources at the Federal and State 

levels to be leveraged to expand the breadth, depth, and dissemination of market reporting to the benefit 

of the industry and information users. State reporters cover livestock auction and grain elevator markets, 

and other local reporting activities, such as farmers markets, that would otherwise be costly and more 

difficult to cover using Federal resources.

Organic Market Reporting

AMS Market News currently reports over 240 organic commodities, and tracks and reports organic 

markets at three main levels – shipping point or point of entry (for imports), wholesale, and retail.

Reporting of organic commodities at shipping point usually includes tracking the volume of movement, 

which consists of domestic shipments or crossings from Mexico/imports from other countries. Market 

News provides some comprehensive reports for the organic sector, such as the daily National Specialty 

Crops Organic Summary. AMS has a webpage showcasing Market News organic reports including a 

Weekly Retail Organic Price Comparison Report that shows the price differences between organic and 

conventional products to assist stakeholders in analysis of commodity sales and consumers’ willingness 

to pay for organic products. 

Market Information Organization of the Americas

AMS Market News serves as the chair of the Market Information Organization of the Americas (MIOA), 

a cooperation network of institutions from 33 countries that operate like Market News. These institutions 

track and report major markets within their nations to ensure the availability of reliable information for 

their agro-industrial complex, relevant ministries, and government agencies. MIOA works to harmonize 

efforts, identify and share best practices, and support trade and economic development through the 

availability of critical market data. MIOA supports the concept that timely and unbiased market 

information helps provide market transparency – a basic public good. MIOA and AMS Market News have 

partnered to create the MIOA Toolbox, a five-part series of modules available in English, Spanish, and 

Portuguese. This series has provided hundreds of leading market information specialists, data analysts, 

and various strategic partners from the 33 member countries with key information on the strategies, new 

tools and good practices to improve market reporting across the Americas. The five modules are titled:

• Components of a Successful MIS

• Value of and Strategies for Accurate Market Information 

• Market Reporter: Profile and Good Practices for Success

• Good Practices for MIS in Preparation for Emergencies

• Outreach, Education and Promotion for MIS
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Livestock, Poultry, and Grain Market News Reporting

Livestock, Poultry, and Grain Market News (LPGMN) continues to focus much of its efforts on improving 

our customer’s experience by providing greater access to LPGMN data through more modern tools, 

including transitioning market data and reports to My Market News. LPGMN is also focused on conducting 

industry outreach to understand challenges presented as part of the reauthorization process of the 

Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) Act of 1999, which was extended by Congress to September 30, 

2021.

Data users are encouraged to access the My Market News API, the LMR API, and the legacy LMR Web 

Service to consume LPGMN data more effectively, efficiently, and on demand. Data users can also access 

LMR report data through the XML Format link at the bottom of each PDF report, and through the LMR 

API. The LMR API offers access to all LMR, Dairy Mandatory, and Federal Milk Marking Order reports 

and data.

Other recent LPGMN activities include: 

• In November and December of 2020, the AMS Cattle and Carcass Training Center (CCTC)

conducted a series of public webinars covering a range of topics including USDA cattle and beef 

grading standards, instrument grading, live cattle evaluation, meat science, CME live cattle 

contract specifications, and the contract delivery process.

• In December 2020, LPGMN enhanced the Monthly Bison Report by adding an estimated annual 

volume of weaned bison calves for feeding to give the industry 

• On January 4, 2021, LPGMN applied updated yields for all LMR commodities in order to stay 

relevant with industry production and marketing practices. 

• On January 4, 2021, LPGMN began including pork carcasses on the National Weekly 

Comprehensive Pork reports and cutout value. In addition, LPGMN also added a new primal, the 

Export Break 4/5 Rib, along with the sub primal cuts to the National Weekly Export Pork Sales 

Report.

• On January 4, 2021, LPGMN replaced the regional prior day purchased swine reports withalinclusive reports that contained the National and regional information on the same report.

Cotton Market News Reporting

During the 2020-2021 cotton crop year, Cotton Market News added information on the high percentage 

of cotton containing seed coat fragments to the Weekly Cotton Market Review. This seed coat fragment 

information was broken down by NASS Agricultural Districts to provide more granular information.

Cotton Price Excel and CSV files are available in My Market News. Historical files continue to be loaded 

and files will be available going back to at least the 2014-2015 marketing year. Additional Cotton Price 

datasets are available by request. E-mail CottonMN@usda.gov or Barbara.Meredith@usda.gov if you are 

interested in Cotton Price datasets.

Dairy Market News Reporting

Dairy Market News (DMN) continues to enhance My Market News, improving access to information and 

data for the dairy industry. CME Group pricing information for butter, cheese, nonfat dry milk, and dry 

whey will be launched in the My Market News system. Pricing will be available for daily closes in addition 

to weekly, monthly, and yearly averages. Enhancements to APIs at the My Market News landing pages 

are made to improve customer needs. 
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Dairy Market Information Branch (MIB) data are now available on the My Market News website. 

Additionally, MIB data are available in Datamart and the associated LMR API and Cornell Sample API 

workbooks are available on the My Market News website.

Specialty Crops Market News Reporting

Specialty Crops Market News (SCMN) added new packages, origins, and varieties to its market reports 

as they emerged in the marketplace, or in response to industry requests to report new products or enhance 

existing products. The National Retail Report – Specialty Crops has grown to be one of the mostly closed 

tracked reports published by Market News. SCMN tracks approximately 410 supermarket chains, with 

over 30,300 individual outlets. Overall, SCMN tracks over 785 unique specialty crop commodities at three 

market levels (retail, wholesale, and shipping point), plus the movement, which consists of domestic 

shipments, crossings from Mexico, and import volumes. To better meet specialized information needs, 

the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement Seasonal Perishable Products Weekly Update, was created to 

highlight the seasonal market situation on several of the most widely imported specialty crops 

commodities, with additional commentary and market price and volume data visualizations.

SCMN gained access to the Automated Commercial Environment/International Trade Data System 

(ACE), implemented through the joint efforts of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), 

Homeland Security, and the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). SCMN transitioned to using the ACE 

system as the primary source of import data, starting with the northern border on January 2, 2020. On 

January 3, 2021, SCMN continued the transition to ACE with the addition of the southern border, 

excluding Mexico Crossings through Nogales, Arizona. The ACE data using the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule (HTS) codes is timelier, allowing SCMN to have daily reports for hundreds of commodities, and 

it reflects the more actual volumes, as it covers all ports and points of entry.
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ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE
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FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE

Update on Information and Data Products Available from

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service

April 2021

Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) 

USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) provides timely reports on foreign markets through the 

Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) database. GAIN allows the FAS global network of 

agricultural experts, located in over 90 offices covering approximately 200 countries, to efficiently create 

and submit reports providing timely intelligence and accurate analysis on global agriculture, agricultural 

markets, and foreign government policies affecting agricultural trade. FAS creates approximately 2,700 

reports on an annual basis, which are uniformly catalogued and published for web-based retrieval. Users 

can access this service from the GAIN homepage: https://gain.fas.usda.gov/#/.

In 2019, FAS released a new GAIN system with improvements that included a mobile design and access 

to the report schedule. In February 2021, additional enhancements were made to GAIN to improve the 

search engine's functionality, and to allow the user to access all public GAIN reports dating back to 1996. 

FAS continues to review reporting requirements for our overseas FAS offices based on developments in 

relevant countries and global commodity markets. Commodity reporting is reviewed annually to ensure 

that reporting requirements are up to date with current needs. Reporting requirements are being maintained 

to the extent possible during this time of COVID-19 because of the importance of timely market 

intelligence. Although many Posts had limited ability to access and submit information in 2020, the 

majority of Posts were able to submit the required commodity reports on time, in addition to submitting 

numerous reports detailing the effect that COVID-19 had on commodities and trade. Reporting on climate 

change and reports on the Farm to Fork Strategy are examples of new issues covered. 

For questions about the GAIN search engine please contact 1-GAINAppSupport@fas.usda.gov. 

To receive GAIN reports via email, register at: 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAFAS/subscriber/new

FAS – U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook

The annually produced U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook, first published in June 2020 (covering 

calendar year 2019), provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world 

and the United States’ primary trading partners. The Yearbook is coordinated by FAS’ Office of Global 

Market Analysis. The 2019 Yearbook can be found at https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/2019-united-statesagricultural-export-yearbook. FAS will make the 2020 Yearbook available to the public in the coming 

weeks.

All U.S. export data found within the Yearbook are collected and published by the U.S. Census Bureau of 

the U.S. Department of Commerce. Foreign country export data are sourced from the reporting countries’ 

national statistical agencies as reported through Trade Data Monitor (TDM). The 2019 U.S. Agricultural 

Export Yearbook consisted of two sections: 1) Commodity exports, and 2) Country of destination exports. 

The Yearbook utilized FAS Product Groups that can be found at FAS’ Global Agricultural Trade System 
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(GATS). The product groups were defined using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) at the ten-digit 

level and aggregated into classifications that include the primary commodity and its derivatives. FAS has 

titled these product groups as “BICO (HS-10).” BICO is an FAS designation that stands for Bulk, 

Intermediate & Consumer Oriented goods. 

The 14 product groups or commodity aggregations, displayed in the Yearbook, are based on the United 

States’ largest export categories. The country Yearbook pages include the United States’ top fifteen export 

destinations. Each commodity and country page includes a list of drivers that influenced exports, market 

conditions affecting supply and demand and policy and market access issues that impact the United States’ 

ability to export.

Foreign Agricultural Service Data Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) 

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) data API portal provides users the ability to obtain 

programmatic access to publicly available agricultural commodity data from the Global Agricultural 

Trade System (GATS), Production, Supply & Distribution (PSD), and Export Sales Report (ESR) 

databases. 

The FAS Open Data Services can be found at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/opendataweb/home. 

For technical questions, please contact the FAS Web Admin Team at FASWebAdminTeam@usda.gov.

Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS)

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Global Agricultural Trade System (GATS) includes 

international agricultural, fish, forest and textile products trade statistics dating from the inception of the 

Harmonized coding system in 1989 to present. In addition, United Nations trade statistics (UN Comtrade) 

may be queried through GATS. UN trade data is available for nearly 200 countries or areas, dating from 

the inception of the Harmonized System (HS) of trade codes in 1989 to present. The database is 

continuously updated. U.S. trade data are updated monthly according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 

reporting system. UN Comtrade data are updated in GATS after nationally submitted data to the UN are 

standardized by the UN Statistics Division and added to UN Comtrade database. Users can access the 

GATS homepage at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/gats/default.aspx.

Beginning with the release of the January 2021 monthly agricultural trade data on March 5, 2021, USDA 

adopted the World Trade Organization (WTO) definition of agriculture, which includes ethanol, distilled 

spirits, and manufactured tobacco products, three product groups which were not included in the previous 

USDA definition. Additionally, certain enzymes, lecithin and industrial acids, rubber and other 

miscellaneous fibers, and rennet were among some of the products removed from the definition of 

agriculture. The change harmonizes U.S. trade reporting practices with those of the international 

community and will ensure that USDA numbers are aligned with those of the Office of the U.S. Trade 

Representative, which already uses the WTO agricultural definition when negotiating WTO binding trade 

agreements. USDA made this change in coordination with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Within 

GATS, the product groups (i.e., BICO, FAS, FATUS, and Processed Foods) have been updated to 

incorporate code changes. This includes concordance of historic codes under the revised aggregates to 

ensure consistent time-series data. 

Users can find additional information at https://www.fas.usda.gov/updated-agricultural-productsdefinition-trade-reporting. 
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For questions, please contact Jason Carver (Jason.Carver@usda.gov) or Saquib Ahsan 

(Saquib.Ahsan@usda.gov). 

Production, Supply and Distribution (PSD) Online

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) PSD Online contains data on production, supply, and 

distribution of agricultural commodities for the U.S. and key producing and consuming countries. Users 

can access PSD online at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/app/index.html#/app/home.

Effective January 1, 2021, the separation of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) is 

complete, including trade between both entities. FAS will continue using the term "European Union" to 

mean the countries involved in the previous customs union, i.e., EU27+UK, from January 2021 through 

April 2021 for field crops PSDs (except cotton). Starting in May 2021 with the release of 2021/22 data, 

field crops PSDs will reflect EU27 and UK separately. Cotton PSDs have been and will continue to be 

maintained on an individual country-level basis, including the UK.

FAS will continue using the term "European Union" to mean the countries involved in the previous 

customs union, i.e., EU27+UK, from January 2021 through October 2021 for livestock and poultry PSDs 

and through December 2021 for dairy PSDs. Starting in October 2021 with the release of the 2022 data, 

livestock and poultry PSDs will reflect EU27 and UK separately. Starting in December 2021 with the 

release of the 2022 data, dairy PSDs will reflect EU27 and UK separately.

Horticultural Products (citrus, coffee, deciduous fruit, stone fruit, tree nuts): FAS will continue using the 

term "European Union" to mean the countries involved in the previous customs union, i.e., EU27+UK, 

for PSD data through 2020/21. Beginning with 2021/22, data will represent the European Union (not 

including the United Kingdom) and will exclude all intra-trade.

Sugar: FAS will continue using the term "European Union" to mean the countries involved in the previous 

customs union, i.e., EU27+UK, for PSD data through 2020/21. Beginning with 2021/22, data will 

represent the European Union (not including the United Kingdom) and will exclude all intra-trade.

Beginning with the release of 2021/22 (or calendar year 2022) data for each commodity group (except 

cotton), historical data for both EU27 and the UK will be provided for 5 years (2016/17 through 2020/21; 

or calendar years 2017 through 2021).

For questions, please contact us at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/app/index.html#/app/contact.

Export Sales Reporting 

Authorized under Section 602 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, the Export Sales Reporting (ESR) 

Program requires exporters of reportable U.S. commodities to report each week all of their export sales 

regardless of the quantity, to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). There are 40 commodities currently covered under the program to include wheat, 

wheat products, barley, corn, grain sorghum, oats, rye, soybeans, soybean cake and meal, soybean oil, 

flaxseed, linseed oil, cotton, sunflower seed oil, cottonseed, cottonseed cake and meal, cottonseed oil, rice, 

cattle hides and skins, wet blues, beef and pork. Users can access the ESR System at 

https://apps.fas.usda.gov/export-sales/esrd1.html.
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FAS knows how important the ESR program is to the U.S. marketplace and takes its responsibility for 

administering this vital program very seriously. FAS began work on upgrading the Export Reporting and 

Maintenance System (ESRMS) in January 2021. FAS expects to have the upgraded ESRMS 

operational before the end of fiscal year 2022. Users of the data should expect more streamlined, userfriendly reports; an upgraded query system and an improved API that will make pulling data from 

ESRMS much easier. In addition to being available online through the ESR webpage and the ESR Query 

System, weekly and daily reports are now available through email via GovDelivery to all users who sign 

up. 

For additional information, contact the Export Sales Reporting Team at esr@usda.gov. 

Agricultural Tariff Tracker 

To help exporters obtain information about tariff reductions resulting from Free Trade Agreements 

(FTAs), FAS launched the Agricultural Tariff Tracker in 2013. The Ag Tariff Tracker has tariff, tariff rate 

quota (TRQ), and safeguard information for the United States’ existing free trade agreements with 11 FTA 

partners. In 2019, terms of the U.S.– Japan Trade agreement were added to the Ag Tariff Tracker. 

This tool is available at https://apps.fas.usda.gov/agtarifftracker/Home/Search on the Trade Policy/Trade 

Agreements topic page of the FAS website: https://www.fas.usda.gov/topics/trade-agreements. 

Production Estimates 

FAS maintains a website that is a dynamic global crop production portal with key information 

including World Agricultural Production (WAP) briefs, Commodity Intelligence Reports (CIR), 

geospatial applications, crop production maps and crop calendars at a subnational level for the 

top-20 producing countries (Figure 1, https://www.ipad.fas.usda.gov). 

The FAS website for global crop production also hosts an application called Crop Explorer that displays 

global rainfall, average temperature, maximum/minimum temperature, evapotranspiration, soil 

moisture, precipitation, SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index) Drought Severity, NDVI (Normalized 

Difference Vegetation Index) vegetation conditions, snow cover, production maps, etc. for 12 different 

crops: cotton, corn, barley, millet, rice, sorghum, wheat, soybeans, sunflower, rapeseed, peanuts, 

and palm oil. (https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/). 

The Crop Explorer website was upgraded to monitor the latest crop conditions and seasonal 

rainfall received for specific crops grown within primary production states. The upgraded Crop Explorer 

monitors specific crops with related web apps called Corn Explorer, Soybean Explorer, Wheat 

Explorer, Cotton Explorer, etc. For example, the dashboard view for Corn Explorer shows corn 

production maps at sub-national (state) levels, cumulative rainfall and NDVI crop conditions for 

all major corn producing countries and regions (Figure 2). 

Crop Explorer also monitors SPI Drought Severity in 5-day time steps to quickly identify the severity 

of droughts that may reduce crop yields during the growing season. For more information, please 

contact Curt Reynolds at curt.reynolds@usda.gov.
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Figure 1. FAS home page for global crop production (March 2021)
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Figure 2. Dashboard View of Corn Explorer (March 2021)

Global Agricultural and Disaster Assessment System (GADAS)

GADAS is a new state-of-the-art Geographic Information System (GIS) tool which integrates a vast array 

of highly detailed earth observation data streams, particularly targeted towards agricultural and disaster 

assessment analysis, into an easy-to-use, web-based environment. GADAS provides analysts with a wide 

variety of routine geospatial products (maps, charts, tables) they require for comprehensive situational 

investigations and recurring assessments. GADAS can be accessed directly at 

(https://geo.fas.usda.gov/GADAS/index.html) or through (https://www.ipad.fas.usda.gov).

GADAS will help USDA/FAS remain a global leader in the use of location-based technologies for 

agricultural monitoring and global food security intelligence. The system combines daily climate, satellite 

imagery, other geospatial data, and custom-built applications that quickly support the visual comparison 

of agricultural production-related data. GADAS is also designed to provide hourly updates of natural 

disasters (cyclone tracking, drought evolution, flooding impacts) as well as tools for rapid pre- and postdisaster agricultural assessments. Web-based GIS improves collaboration between teams in FAS working 

around the world. 

For questions, contact Robert Tetrault at robert.tetrault@usda.gov.

Figure 3. GADAS home page (March 2021)
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United States Department of Agriculture

WORLD AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK BOARD

Questions about World Agricultural Outlook Board programs may be directed to Mark Jekanowski, Chairman, WAOB, 

Mail Stop 3812, South Building, USDA, Washington, D.C. 20250-3812; Mark.Jekanowski@usda.gov.

The World Agricultural Outlook Board’s (WAOB) primary mission is to provide reliable and objective 

economic forecasts for farmers and other participants in the food and fiber system. Functions include 

coordinating USDA forecasts of domestic and international agriculture; providing economic analysis 

related to global commodity markets; monitoring markets and agricultural weather; and disseminating 

relevant information.

Mark Jekanowski, WAOB Chairman, oversees the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates

(WASDE) report. Dr. Jekanowski joined the WAOB as Deputy Chairman in August 2018. Former 

positions include Deputy Director for the commodity outlook program at USDA’s Economic Research 

Service (ERS), Chief of the Crops Branch at ERS, and Senior Vice President at Informa Economics. 

Interagency Commodity Estimates Committees (ICECs), chaired by WAOB senior economists, clear all 

USDA economic outlook reports to ensure consistency with official USDA estimates. The committees 

develop supply and demand estimates for the United States, over 100 individual countries, and global 

totals. Four USDA agencies are represented on the committees: the Economic Research Service, the 

Foreign Agricultural Service, the Farm Service Agency, and the Agricultural Marketing Service. 

Report Usage: Each year, WAOB issues 12 monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates

(WASDE) reports; and publishes 52 weekly Weather and Economics Briefing reports. On average, the 

WASDE is accessed by over 100,000 users worldwide each month. It’s one of USDA’s primary Federal 

statistical indicators and directly impacts commodity markets. 

Historic WASDE Data: Ten years of consolidated historical WASDE data is available for the first time 

on the World Agricultural Outlook Board website (https://www.usda.gov/oce/commoditymarkets/wasde/historical-wasde-report-data). The data is provided in CSV format and includes every data 

point from each monthly WASDE between April 2010 and December 2020. Monthly data in the same 

CSV format for the months of 2021 are available at this same website and can be combined with the 

historic data file. Current monthly data will be updated within two business days of each WASDE release.

USDA Baseline: WAOB oversees the annual publication of the inter-agency USDA Agricultural Longterm Projections, updated and released every February. The Long-term Projections reports provide a 

conditional long run scenario about what would be expected to happen to the global agricultural economy 

under a continuation of current farm legislation and other specific assumptions. These reports are 

important sources for strategic planning information used in formulating the President’s budget, and for 

decisions made by agricultural producers, agribusiness leaders, and policy officials.

Mark Brusberg, Chief Meteorologist, is a key contributor to, and main point of contact for, droughtrelated activities involving the Department and other Federal Partners, especially the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Mr. Brusberg serves on the Executive Council of the NOAAled National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) and leads several projects related to the 

work done by NIDIS and other drought-oriented groups on behalf of the Department. He currently serves 
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as the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the National Drought Resilience Partnership (NDRP), an 

intergovernmental task force offering leadership in the coordination and administration of activities 

designed to help mitigate the impacts of drought on vulnerable segments of the Nation’s economy. He is 

also a lead USDA representative to the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology.

Mr. Brusberg chairs USDA’s Combined Drought and Water Management Team, a venue for other 

agencies within the Department to share information and coordinate responses on projects and programs 

involving drought and water resources. As the Departmental lead on Drought, he facilitates partnerships 

between USDA and other groups, including the NDRP, NIDIS, and the National Drought Mitigation 

Center (NDMC). 

Agricultural Weather Monitoring and Assessments: WAOB’s staff of meteorologists generates timely 

weather and crop assessments in support of the monthly Crop Production and WASDE reports issued by 

National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and WAOB, respectively. The meteorologists also 

provide weekly updates of crop weather to USDA Radio and often appear on local and national radio and 

television broadcasts. As recognized experts within the Department, they are sometimes tasked with 

attending Capitol Hill briefings and reviewing legislation and testimony, and occasionally contribute 

assessments and products to the USDA blog and other publications. Another key duty is to meet with 

foreign delegations and domestic groups regarding the process of using weather and climate products to 

produce operational agricultural assessments. WAOB meteorologists publish the Weekly Weather and 

Crop Bulletin, which provides the public with weekly assessments of global agricultural weather. Data 

and products are supplied to the WWCB by NASS and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, through a 

formal agreement establishing the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility. The WWCB averaged over 30,000 

downloads per week in FY20 from USDA, and additional downloads from the Cornell site. On a rotating 

basis, WAOB meteorologists prepared the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor and the monthly North American 

Drought Monitor. WAOB continues to support the World Meteorological Organization, including the 

World Agrometeorological Information Service (WAMIS), which helps communicate weather and 

climate information to the global farming community.

Agricultural Outlook Forum 2021: The Outlook Forum is USDA’s largest and premiere annual 

gathering. The breadth and timeliness of the AOF programs have consistently drawn a diverse group of 

participants including producers, processors, policymakers, government officials, and non-governmental 

organizations, to discuss current and emerging issues. .

This year, the Forum was held under the theme “Building on Innovation, a Pathway to Resilience.” Due 

to COVID-19, the 2021 Forum was held virtually and registration was free, which allowed thousands of 

stakeholders from all over the country (and around the world) to participate for the first time. Nearly 4,500 

people from 50 States and over 100 countries attended Forum sessions. Forum sessions covered a range 

of topics relating to commodity market outlooks, supply chain resilience, agricultural technology and 

innovation, and U.S. trade, among others. All sessions are available for viewing for free on the platform 

provider’s website until February 11, 2022 through the Forum website. (https://www.usda.gov/oce/agoutlook-forum)
26

Staff changes: 

• Bill Chambers, formerly Chair of the Food Grains Committee at the WAOB, was appointed 

Deputy World Board Chair in October 2020. Prior to joining WAOB, Bill served for ten years as 

a commodity and policy analyst with USDA's Farm Service Agency, where he analyzed 

commodity markets, farm policies, new program proposals, and budget outlays. 

• Mark Simone became the Food Grain Chair in January 2021. Mark has served as a Food Grain 

Analyst for USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board since 2017. Prior to that, he served for ten 

years as an Agriculture Economist for USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

• Justin Choe joined the Board as a senior feed grains analyst in June 2020. Justin previously served 

as an international trade analyst with U.S. International Trade Commission and as an economist 

with USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. 
27

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

The U.S. Census Bureau provides information that tells the story of our changing economy. The Economic 

Indicators, Economic Census and our quarterly and annual economic surveys give Federal, state, and local 

governments, policy makers, and business and community leaders the information needed to make 

informed decisions that shape our economy.

Issues of Interest to Data Users

1. Accessing Data from the U.S. Census Bureau

• USA Trade Online 

USA Trade Online is a dynamic data tool that gives users access to current and cumulative U.S. 

export and import data. With multiple data sets and capabilities, USA Trade Online can assist 

different types of customers from a wide range of industries and fields. This tool offers data by 

Harmonized System, North America Industry Classification System (NAICS), and the Department 

of Agriculture code. This powerful software allows users to create customized reports and colorful 

charts detailing international trade data at different levels.

https://usatrade.census.gov/

• Monthly Trade Data in the Census Data API

The U.S. Census Bureau has detailed monthly international trade data in its Application 

Programming Interface (API). The Census Data API has international trade data from 2013 to 

present. The international trade statistics provide monthly and cumulative year-to-date export and 

import totals with multiple layers of detail. The statistics also include two datasets with U.S. 

exports and imports by Department of Agriculture code.

The Application Programming Interface provides researchers and developers free access to its 

demographic and economic data.

https://census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/international-trade.html

• Global Marker Finder (GMF)

The Global Market Finder is an interactive data visualization tool that paints a picture of the export 

market for a particular commodity. The user just needs to select the Schedule B code they are 

interested in and the tool will display all the countries that the U.S. exports to, shows value by 

method of transportation, and unit price. Users can drill down to specific countries and download 

the data that they have pulled. 

https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/export-markets.html
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• Census Business Builder

The Census Business Builder (CBB) is a suite of services that provide selected demographic and 

economic data from the Census Bureau tailored to specific types of users in a simple to access and 

use format. The CBB includes: 

o Demographic, socioeconomic, and housing data from the American Community Survey

o Business data from the County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, Economic 

Census, and Survey of Business Owners 

o Trade data on total imports and exports, broken out by mode of transportation (Air & 

Vessel), for selected three- and four-digit agriculture, mining, and manufacturing NAICS 

codes at the national and state level.

o Building Permits data at the county and place level 

In addition, it provides Agriculture data from the Census of Agriculture (USDA).

https://www.census.gov/data/data-tools/cbb.html

2. Principal Economic Indicators

The U.S. Census Bureau's Economic Indicators keep the world informed by providing the first official 

measures of the U.S. economy. Our Economic Indicator surveys provide monthly and quarterly data 

that are timely, reliable, and offer comprehensive measures of the U.S. economy. These surveys 

produce a variety of statistics covering construction, housing, international trade, retail trade, 

wholesale trade, services, and manufacturing. The survey data provide measures of economic activity 

that allow analysis of economic performance and inform business investment and policy decisions. 

The data can be accessed via the Economic Indicator Briefing Room and the Economic Indicator 

Database. 

• Economic Indicator Briefing Room

The Economic Indicator Briefing Room web site provides access to the latest data, full release 

reports, historical data, and time series and trend charts. census.gov/economic-indicators

• Economic Indicator Database

Select an economic indicator and customize your data selection. Ability to download the data to a 

spreadsheet and create your own time series charts. census.gov/econ/currentdata

• For questions regarding Economic Indicators, please contact:

Ms. Stephanie Studds, Chief

Economic Indicators Division

U.S. Census Bureau

Room 7K154

Washington, DC 20233-6010

Phone: (301) 763-2633

Email: Stephanie.Lee.Studds@census.gov
29

3. International Trade

Each month, the U.S. Census Bureau releases the U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services

(FT900) report, which is one of the principal economic indicators for the United States. This report 

can be found along with other information on our website census.gov/trade

Webinars are archived at: https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/outreach/index.html

• 15 CFR PART 30 — Foreign Trade Regulations

For information on the FTR and filing requirements, please email emd.askregs@census.gov or use 

the International Trade Helpline number, 1-800-549-0595 and select option 3.

• Questionable data should be brought to our attention as soon as possible. Potential data errors 

caught early are easier to verify and improve the quality of data going forward. To request data 

verification, please contact Mr. Gregory Kondilas (gregory.kondilas@census.gov), Chief of our 

International Trade Indicator Micro Analysis Branch.

4. Other Economic Data from the U.S. Census Bureau

• 2017 Economic Census 

Every five years, the U.S. Census Bureau collects extensive statistics about businesses that are 

essential to understanding the American economy. This official count, better known as the Economic 

Census, serves as the foundation for the measurement of U.S. businesses and their economic impact. 

Throughout the year, several products were released including: 

o Geographic Area Statistics 

o Product Statistics by North American Product Classification System (NACPS) 

o Establishment & Firm Size Summary Statistics by Revenue Size and Employment Size of 

Establishments 

o For more information, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census.html. 

• Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES)

The Annual Capital Expenditures: 2019 was released December 16, 2020.

The Annual Capital Expenditures Survey (ACES) is part of a comprehensive program designed to 

provide more detailed and timely information on capital investment in structures and equipment 

by nonfarm enterprises. The data are used to improve the quality of current economic indicators 

of business investments, as well as the quarterly estimates of gross domestic product. The data also 

provide facts about trends in capital expenditures useful for identifying business opportunities, 

product development, and business planning. 

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/aces.html
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• County Business Patterns (CBP)

The 2018 County Business Pattern data was released on June 25, 2020.

County Business Patterns provides annual information about establishments with paid employees 

by NAICS industry down to the county level. This series includes the number of establishments, 

employment during the week of March 12, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll. 

CBP releases information on the following agriculture related industries, including: 

o NAICS 113 Forestry and Logging 

o NAICS 114 Fishing, Hunting and Trapping 

o NAICS 115 Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry 

o NAICS 311 Food Manufacturing 

o NAICS 4244 Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers 

o NAICS 4245 Farm Product Raw Material Merchant Wholesalers 

o NAICS 445 Food and Beverage Stores 

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html

• Information on all the U.S. Census Bureau's economic products can be found at 

https://www.census.gov/topics/business-economy.html
31

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE

STATISTICS DIVISION

What’s New and What’s Changing?

NASS Mission Statement:

To provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. Agriculture

Crops

In June 2020, estimates of corn and soybean acres remaining to be planted for the United States were 

published in the Acreage report. These estimates will continue to be published in the Acreage report 

moving forward. Similarly, estimates of corn and soybeans remaining to be harvested for the United States 

were first published in the Crop Production 2020 Summary report in January 2021 and will continue to 

be published in this annual report. These additional estimates are at the request of multiple industry sources 

and provide increased transparency regarding the published acreage estimates.

During the past year, information regarding reliability of published crop estimates was enhanced and 

standardized in various publications. Information is now provided in tabular format for Barley, Corn, Hay, 

Oats, Oranges, Peanuts, Potatoes, Rice, Sorghum, Soybeans, Sugarbeets, Sugarcane, Upland Cotton, and 

Wheat (by Type) each time these crops appear in the monthly Crop Production reports as well as the 

Prospective Plantings and Acreage reports.

Beginning with the 2020 crop season, several changes were made to the crop county estimating program. 

New modeling techniques were implemented to improve consistency and efficiency of the process, 

enhancements were made to the publication standards, and district level estimates were discontinued for 

crops. As a result of these changes the number of counties published has increased significantly.

Released in January 2021, the North American Potatoes publication now contains potato estimates for 

Mexico. This report now contains comparable potato estimates for Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

On February 25, 2021, NASS released the Crop Values report. Beginning with the 2020 crop season, 

State-level marketing year average prices and value of production estimates are published for chickpeas. 

Estimates were previously only published for the United States totals. 

In April 2021, NASS published the first Methodology and Quality Measures report for Grain Stocks. This 

report contains details concerning the survey methodology as well as quality metrics that describe the 

performance data for all surveys contributing to the published estimates. Plans are to publish this report 

annually following the January Grain Stocks report.

Beginning in 2021, the acreage estimates for Hops that were previously published in the Acreage report 

at the end of June will be published in the Crop Production report earlier that month. This change was 

requested by the Hop industry.
32

Beginning in 2021, the final U.S. marketing year average prices for several crops will be published earlier 

in the year to allow the Farm Service Agency to meet statutory deadlines in administering their programs. 

Crops impacted and the new publication months are: Barley (June), Oats (June), Wheat (June), Canola 

(July), Dry Edible Peas (July), Flaxseed (July), Lentils (July), Rapeseed (July), Mustard Seed (September), 

Safflower (September), and Sunflower (September). As a reminder, these estimates are published in the 

Agricultural Prices report that is released near the end of each month.

NASS is working on designing and soon implementing the first comprehensive hemp survey conducted 

by USDA. NASS is working with our USDA partners to tentatively launch the survey in the fall of 2021 

with a resulting report published by early 2022. 

Livestock

In April 2020, NASS published Poultry and Egg Production highlights from the results of the 

2017 Census of Agriculture. 

Annual Methodology and Quality Measures reports for Hogs and Pigs (December 2020), Cattle

(March 2021), Cattle on Feed (March 2021), and Milk Production (March 2021) continue to be published. 

During this past year, NASS made improvements and standardization to the annual Methodology and 

Quality Measures reports for Catfish, Honey, Mink, Sheep and Goats, and Trout. These reports will be 

released in 2021. 

In 2021, Methodology and Quality Measures reports for Chickens and Eggs, and Honey Bee Colonies will 

be published for the first time. 

Environmental, Economics and Demographics 

On June 9, 2020, NASS released the Puerto Rico Census of Agriculture (COA). The results are available 

at the regional level. The COA now includes specific data tables on young producers (age 35 and under), 

new and beginning producers (less than 10 years), and producers with military service.

On July 21, 2020, NASS released the Outlying Census of Agriculture (COA). This includes data from 

American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

On August 17, 2020, NASS released the 2019 National Farmers Market Managers Survey. This survey 

was conducted under an agreement with the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). This data is used by 

AMS to measure the customer demand of local foods from the Farmer’s Market manager’s perspective, 

look for potential expansion opportunities, target access to nutritional foods, market nutritional education, 

measure access to local foods and organic foods, and strengthening community engagement. This survey 

is conducted every 5-years. 

On October 22, 2020, the 2019 Organic Survey was released after being conducted under the authority of 

the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 with mandatory participation. The primary purpose of the Organic 

Survey is to provide acreage, inventory, production, value of sales and sales outlets and production 

practices on certified organic farms. The Organic Survey provides comprehensive data at the State and

National level for organic crops, livestock, and marketing and production practices. This Census Special 
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Study is a complete inventory of all known organic producers in the United States that are certified, exempt 

from certification (those grossing less than $5,000 annually from organic sales), and those producers 

transitioning to organic production. 

Released on December 8, 2020, the 2019 Census of Horticulture Specialties contains data at national and 

state levels. This Census Special Study is the only source of detailed production and sales data for 

floriculture, nursery, and specialty crops and provides a comprehensive picture of the horticultural sector 

of the U.S. economy

Released on December 17, 2020, the Irrigation Organizations publication provides information on 

organizations that either provide off-farm water for farms or manage groundwater usage on farms. Tables 

provide a breakdown of the services the organizations provide, the amount of water they work with, and 

the economic conditions they work under. NASS and ERS developed the national Survey of Irrigation 

Organizations to provide the first updated dataset of local water-supply management entities since the 

1978 Census of Irrigation Organizations, which was conducted by the Census Bureau.

On January 22, 2021, NASS released Typology, the last data series from the 2017 Census of Agriculture. 

Typology focuses primarily on the family farm and classifies all farms into categories based on two 

criteria – who owns the operation and gross cash farm income (GCFI). 

On February 11, 2021, NASS published the reinstated Farm Labor report. This report included annual 

average base and gross wage rates for regions, states, and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 

Systems. In 2021, the Farm Labor Report will be released on May 26 and November 24.

On May 14, 2021, Field Crop Chemical Usage data will be released. Originating in 1990, the NASS 

Chemical Use data series is USDA’s official source of statistics about on-farm chemical use and pest 

management practices. 

On July 21, 2021, Vegetable Chemical Usage data will be released. This report is released every other 

year. Originating in 1990, the NASS Chemical Use data series is USDA’s official source of statistics about 

on-farm chemical use and pest management practices.

On August 18, 2021, Farm Computer Usage and Ownership data will be released. These data are 

published every other year and present data on farm computer usage including ownership, internet 

access and farm business use. 

The Cash Rents county level data will be published August 27, 2021. NASS was directed through the 

“Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008” and amended by the “Agricultural Act of 2014” to 

collect cash rents data for use by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in program administration

On November 18, 2021, Local Food Marketing Practices will be released. This is the second release in 

the data series that was last conducted in 2015. This study provides data on the marketing of locally and 

regionally produced agricultural food products, as directed under the 2018 Farm Bill. Updated metrics 

on the value of agriculture products sold by marketing practice and marketing channel, as well as the 

geographic location of production and the distance traveled to market directly to consumers are 

included. 
34

Census of Agriculture Program 

The final products were released from the 2017 Census of Agriculture during 2020. These included a 

special tabulation regarding Typology along with, for the first time, a data visualization product and profile 

for the Navajo Nation. 

Preparations for the 2022 Census of Agriculture are well underway. This past December, NASS began 

collecting data for its Content Test. The Content Test is critical for determining the ability to collect new 

data items on the census of agriculture questionnaire. The Content Test also serves as a dry run for 

developing and enhancing data processing systems that will be used for the production in late 2022. NASS 

continues to focus efforts on improving its online data reporting system to capture additional responses 

via a secure and convenient Internet platform. 

Modernization 

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is well known for being the gold standard for 

U.S. agricultural data that can help you in your work. We are proud of our reputation for providing useful, 

accurate data in service to U.S. agriculture for more than 150 years. To provide these data, we’ve done 

things consistently and comparably for decades, tapping into new technologies when they uphold our high 

standards for data quality – and importantly for maintaining the privacy of our data providers.

USDA NASS is committed to high standards of customer service and making interaction with us as easy 

as possible. We are modernizing our online systems to improve the customer experience and access to 

official federal agricultural data and reports. We are making accurate data available on schedule in ways 

that customers want. 

NASS has embarked on numerous efforts to modernize our customer interfaces to make responding to 

surveys and accessing NASS data and reports faster, friendlier, and easier. The modernizations are also 

intended to make NASS work more efficiently. Modernization will be focused in two areas.

o Data Collection - Beginning in mid-2017 with the Census of Agriculture, we phased all 

surveys into a new online questionnaire that is a faster and more convenient way to respond to 

surveys.

 The new online questionnaire includes time-saving features such as mobile 

accessibility, automatic calculations, skipping questions that do not apply to the 

particular farm or ranch, and faster direct data entry as opposed to mail/scan entry. 

 Research and testing are underway for new initiatives to reduce the data collection 

burden on farmers and ranchers such as using previously reported data in 

questionnaires, further utilizing administrative data, incorporating field-level data, 

further encouraging online response, and increasing electronic communications with 

producers.

o Data Dissemination - There are many recent, current, and future improvements to data 

dissemination and data access at NASS.

 Made the website more user friendly by merging the previously separate Census of 

Agriculture and overall NASS sites. 

 Developed an award-winning data visualization and are improving usability of the 

website by consolidating survey information onto one page. 
35

 Longer-term, will overhaul management and presentation of the website resulting in a 

data-first, user-friendly, interactive customer experience. 

 Implemented a system to handle extreme demand loads during data release times, 

thereby keeping systems fast and accessible for customers. 

NASS is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful agricultural data that help all data users in 

their work. 

Visit the NASS website (www.nass.usda.gov) and follow us on Twitter @usda_nass to stay up to date.