Gov. signs January Census of Agriculture proclamation

Governor Sonny Perdue and Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin today put the focus on agriculture statistical data by designating January Census of Agriculture Month.

Governor Perdue signed the proclamation for the designation in a meeting with Commissioner Irvin and other agriculture leaders in Georgia.  The Census of Agriculture is collected every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Deadline for returning the completed census forms is February 4, 2008.  The forms can be mailed or completed online.  Farmers and ranchers who would like to complete the census online may do so through the web site:  www.agcensus.usda.gov.  Forms and more information also can be obtained by calling 1-888-424-7828.

“Good statistics are critical to developing effective agricultural policies, such as the water policy recommended to the legislature by the state water council on which I served,” said Irvin.  “I urge all farmers and ranchers to fill out those census forms and get them back in before the deadline.”

Also participating in the ceremony were:  Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture Terry Coleman; the agriculture liaison for Governor Perdue, Donnie Smith; Douglas Kleweno and Radley Edwards, the director and deputy director of the Georgia field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

“We are honored that the Governor and the Commissioner here in Georgia both see the significance and importance of agricultural statistics in decision making by declaring January Census of Agriculture Month.  This also highlights the importance of agriculture being the number one industry in Georgia,” said Kleweno.

The Census gives the only complete count of the nation’s farms and ranches and people who operate them at a state and county level.  Federal law requires that individual answers be kept confidential.

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