NASS reports ‘crucial for farmers’

ST. LOUIS — Whether they’re taken to heart to taken with a grain of salt, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly crop and livestock estimates are crucial for the entire farm supply chain.

Brad Summa, director of the Heartland Regional Office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, serving Illinois and Missouri, stressed the importance of the reports in a recent University of Illinois Extension farmdoc video.

“The NASS mission is to provide timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture. We achieve this by conducting hundreds of surveys every year and preparing reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture,” Summa said.

Reports include the crop production estimates, planting intentions and acreage, quarterly hog and pig, semi-annual cattle inventory, and monthly cattle on feed.

“I encourage you to explore our reports and see how they can benefit your operation.”

—  Brad Summa, director, Heartland Regional Office, National Agricultural Statistics Service

NASS also produces the Census of Agriculture every five years, providing a comprehensive picture of U.S. farms and ranches from the people who operate them.

Why are these reports important?

Summa: First and foremost, NASS reports have a significant impact on the markets. When we release a report showing an unexpected increase or decrease in crop production, it can cause immediate shifts in commodity prices.

Although the prices go up as often as they go down, it’s the decrease in prices that tend to get the most attention.

Either way, this information is crucial for farmers making decisions about planting, harvesting and marketing their crops.

Our reports can help you benchmark your farm’s performance against regional and national averages, identify emerging market opportunities and even support loan applications by providing credible data on crop yields and livestock inventories.

Likewise for grain buyers, they need to know what they can expect to pay for grains used in their business.

Whether it’s food, feed, fuel or any number of other uses of grain, these raw materials are counted on by hundreds of businesses across the country.

So, whether you are a seller or a buyer, knowing what to plug into that balance sheet is critically important to the success of the operation.

Do these reports impact other entities beyond producers and buyers?

Summa: Another really important reason for NASS reports is the logistics planning necessary to move grain throughout the supply chain.

As we saw during COVID, a disruption in the supply chain can have a huge impact on the economy.

Processing plants were slowed, ports got backed up, ships at times had to wait months to unload. Important supplies of materials were taking a lot longer to arrive at their destination.

We saw grocery store shelves void of canned goods and limited fresh meat and vegetable options for a while, and this was something that most of us have never seen in our lifetime.

For farmers, they want to know what’s coming off their farm so they can plan for the combine, the grain wagons, semis and all things necessary to get the grain to either their on-farm storage facilities or to the elevator that they have contracted with.

Likewise, grain companies need to know what’s coming so they, too, can plan for the storage space, rail cars, barges to get the grain to its final destination.

To put the logistics into perspective in terms of preparing for production potential, one barge has a capacity of 58,333 bushels, a rail car can carry 4,000 bushels and a large semi has about a 900-bushel capacity, right?

Summa: It takes approximately four and a half semi loads to fill a rail car and about 16 rail cars to fill one barge. As an example, approximately 50% of the U.S. soybean crop gets exported to another country, and much of that starts by going down the Mississippi River on a barge.

So, knowing what’s coming down the pike is critically important for preparing that logistics network and maintaining an efficient supply chain.

Any final thoughts on NASS reports?

Summa: USDA NASS reports are more than just numbers on a page. They’re powerful tools that can help you make better decisions, understand market trends and advocate for policies that support agriculture.

So, whether you’re a small family farmer or part of a large agribusiness, I encourage you to explore our reports and see how they can benefit your operation.

Agriculture is constantly evolving, and staying informed is key to success. NASS reports are here to help you navigate these changes and thrive in an increasingly complex agricultural landscape.

Lastly, I want to emphasize something very important. The accuracy and usefulness of our reports depends on farmer participation.

We use satellite technology and administrative data and they are great sources used to supplement the NASS estimation program, but no one knows more about producing agricultural commodities than the farmers themselves.

So, if you’re a farmer and you get a questionnaire in the mail, a phone call, maybe even a personal visit asking about your operation, please help us make our estimates the best they can be.

Everyone deserves a fair shake in the marketplace, especially the hardworking men and women who produce our nation’s food.