US: USDA to survey Southern vegetable growers
Over the next three months, vegetable growers in the United States will be asked about their production practices when they participate in the Vegetable Chemical Use Survey, conducted by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
“This survey will give vegetable producers the opportunity to explain how they use agricultural chemicals and manage pests responsibly to produce a safe, high-quality food supply,” said Jim Ewing, director of the NASS Southern Regional Field Office. “The data will help support the policies and programs that protect the health and safety of agriculture producers, workers, and consumers alike.”
NASS field offices in 18 states will collect data for 25 targeted crops. In the Southern Region, vegetable producers in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina will be contacted between October 1 and November 20 by NASS representatives who will be conducting in-person interviews with growers to gather information on their fertilizer use, chemical use, and pest management practices.
“The Vegetable Chemical Use Survey will help ensure that USDA and other agencies have the most accurate, up-to-date chemical use information, straight from the source – producers themselves,” Ewing explained.
As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.
The results of the Vegetable Chemical Use Survey will be released on NASS’s website August 5, 2015.
Source: southeastfarmpress.com