01/04/07 An important cattle survey

Washington Ag January 4, 2007 Fifty-thousand cattle producers across the U.S., including some in Washington state, will be contacted within the next two weeks for an important survey. It's the USDA's annual January Cattle Inventory Survey. Dan Kerestes, Chief of the National Agricultural Statistics Service Livestock Branch, says cattle producers who participate in the survey are providing an important service to their industry. Kerestes: "Without the producers NASS doesn't have the information to put out a good report. And we need that information. And information is something that the producers need to make their decisions too. When producers get this information, this allows the producers to make some marketing decisions, knowing how many cattle they should hold on to, what they should do for the upcoming year. It gives them a real good idea of what is happening and it gives people in the industry an idea of what is going on with cattle." There are some other folks who utilize this information too. Kerestes: "But it also helps bankers and other people in the government make good decisions that affect the producers." Information is gathered from producers by telephone, mail, even personal interviews. Results of the survey will be published February 2nd. I'm Bob Hoff.