05/25/06 NASS annual farm planting survey

The National Ag Statistics Service will take its annual agricultural survey beginning this Saturday and running through June 13th. State director Bill Meyer says the survey sets the record straight on Idaho agricultural production. MEYER "Asking producers for what they planted this year. This will be first time that we will have an accurate acreage estimate for the 2006 crop." 28 hundred of Idaho's 25 thousand farms will be surveyed. Obviously Meyer and his staff have a lot of ground to cover in 17 days. MEYER "30 field enumerators that will be collecting data and will be out actually interviewing the producers and then we have a group of enumerators that make phone calls during the survey time." The information gathered at each farm is confidential but the data is widely used. MEYER "First and foremost the farmers will use the data for marketing decisions, but then several agribusiness use the information; rail companies, suppliers of chemicals, fertilizer, they can make decisions on how much will be needed in Idaho. Researchers use this data, policy makers will look at this data also." Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott