Des Moines, IA – The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will continue collecting responses to the Conservation Practice Adoption Motivations Survey over the coming weeks. Survey recipients may respond securely online at www.agcounts.usda.gov, by phone or mail. A representative for NASS may call producers to set up an interview to assist in the completion of the questionnaire.

In late May, NASS mailed the survey to 731 Iowa farmers and ranchers. A joint project between NASS and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), this new survey is aimed at better understanding conservation practice adoption and the role of technical and financial assistance. The data will be used to guide the implementation of NRCS programs in the future.

“Gathering information about farmers’ and ranchers’ motivation for and adoption of conservation practices allows USDA to understand the use and awareness of its programs,” said Greg Thessen, Director of the NASS Upper Midwest Regional Field Office. “By continuing to collect survey responses, NASS can ensure we have the most accurate and representative data.”

There are two versions of the survey this year – one requesting information on crop conservation practices and one for confined livestock conservation practices. Data from both versions of the survey will be available later this fall on NASS’s website at nass.usda.gov.

All information reported by individuals will be kept confidential, as required by federal law. For assistance with the survey, producers can call the NASS Upper Midwest Regional Field Office at (800)-772-0825.