WASHINGTON, DC, May 29, 2009 -- For the first time, results from the Census of Agriculture have been published at the watershed level by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
"Our data users in the agricultural and environmental communities have expressed the need for watershed data and NASS is proud to meet their needs," said Carol House, NASS deputy administrator for programs and products. "The new watershed publication presents agricultural data that conforms to geographic boundaries, rather than state and county boundaries."
In the new publication, NASS reports selected data from the 2007 Census of Agriculture according to watershed boundaries set by the U.S. Geological Survey. The information is available for all 20 major water sources in the United States, as well as for each of the 376 water basins.
Information from the 2002 Census of Agriculture is published alongside the 2007 Census results to demonstrate changes in land use, production practices and livestock distribution over the past five years.
The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of the nation's farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It provides the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every state, county, and now water basin in the nation.
For more information about the Census of Agriculture and to access the watershed publication, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call (800) 727-9540.
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