Farm Bureau Appreciates Reinstatement of Critical NASS Surveys

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on USDA’s decision to resume publication of its July Cattle and County Estimates for Crops and Livestock reports.

“Both the July Cattle Report and County Estimates reports are crucial tools for farmers and ranchers to understand their markets and make business decisions. We’re grateful USDA made the correct call to restore these reports, after input from AFBF and many other agricultural organizations.

“As we said in a letter to USDA last spring, the July Cattle Report is a tentpole of cattle market transparency, and the County Estimates report is used to build vital crop insurance products. Congress appropriated the funds to produce these reports, underscoring just how important they are. We look forward to the release of the first edition in early May.”

The Cotton Objective Yield Survey was also discontinued last year. The Department has not announced a reinstatement of that report.

“We encourage NASS to consider resuming the Cotton Objective Yield Survey as well,” Duvall said. “Cotton farmers have faced several years of challenges with prices well below break-even. While the County Estimates will certainly provide some additional useful information, there will be a gap during the pivotal summer and fall growing months.”