(Des Moines, Iowa) – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reports NASS will release the 2022 Census of Agriculture data on February 13, 2024. NASS concluded the data collection this summer with a preliminary national return rate of 61%. The ag census, conducted once every five years, was mailed to over 116,000 producers across Iowa late last year with a preliminary return rate of just over 71%, the highest of any state.

NASS Upper Midwest Regional Director, Greg Thessen says “I want to thank all the Iowa producers for the time and effort they invested in completing their Census form and helping achieve the highest return rate of any state. The aggregate information from individual farmer responses provides a powerful tool to help show the importance of agriculture in Iowa, promote the industry, and track trends. The Census of Agriculture provides the only source of comprehensive agricultural data for every State and county in the nation. Farm and commodity organizations, extension educators, agribusinesses, legislators at all levels of government, news media, and many others will use this data for a wide variety of purposes.”

The ag census data will be available at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus and in NASS’s searchable database, Quick Stats. Publication dates for the various ag census data products can be found on NASS’s online 2024 Agricultural Statistics Board Calendar. Like all NASS data, ag census data will be available in aggregate form only, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified, as required by federal law. Watch for additional news about the ag census at @usda_nass on X (formerly known as Twitter). In addition, two ag census special studies that will provide more in-depth information on certain industries will be conducted this winter: the 2023 Census of Aquaculture and the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey. These questionnaires will be mailed to the producers who reported these activities in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. For more information about these upcoming special studies, visit nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.