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HARRISBURG -- USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its biannual Agricultural Labor Survey in April. The survey will collect information about hired labor from more than 2,000 farmers and ranchers. NASS will publish survey results May 24 in the Farm Labor report available on the NASS website.
In the survey, NASS asks producers to answer a variety of questions about hired farm labor on their operations, including total number of hired farm workers, the total hours worked, and total wages paid for the weeks of Jan 8-14 and April 9-15, 2023. Survey participants can respond online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.
"Agricultural labor data are critical in helping producers when hiring workers and estimating expenses," said King Whetstone, director of the NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office. "The data that farm operators provide through NASS's Agricultural Labor Survey also allow federal policymakers to base farm labor policies on accurate information."
USDA and the U.S. Department of Labor use the results of this survey to estimate the demand for and availability of seasonal agricultural workers, establish minimum wage rates for agricultural workers, administer farm labor recruitment and placement service programs, and assist legislators in determining labor policies.
"By asking about two separate time periods each time we collect data during the year, we are able to publish biannual data and capture seasonal variation," said Whetstone. "This approach reduces the number of times we survey farms, while ensuring that accurate and timely data are available."
All previous Farm Labor publications are available on the NASS website at nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the Northeastern Regional Field Office at (800) 498-1518. Participants can visit youtu.be/6oWSOjGTQzU for further instructions on completing the survey.
Producers responding online can use the NASS Respondent Portal. On the portal, producers can complete their surveys, see previously reported data, access data visualizations and reports of interest, link to other USDA agencies, get a local weather update, and more.
More corn, less soybeans
For the 2023 crop season, Pennsylvania growers intend to increase the area devoted to corn. Growers across the State intend to plant 1.31 million acres of corn for all purposes, up 11% from last year, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Soybean planted area in 2023 is estimated at 590 thousand acres, down 2% from last year.
The Prospective Plantings report provides the first official, survey based estimates of U.S. farmers' 2023 planting intentions, according to King Whetstone, director of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Northeastern Regional Field Office. NASS acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of approximately 72,900 farm operators across the United States.
Other Pennsylvania's 2023 key findings in the report are:
Barley planted area is estimated at 37 thousand acres, down 10% from last year.
Oat planted area is estimated at 78 thousand acres, down 10% from last year.
Winter Wheat area planted is estimated at 290 thousand acres, up 7% from last year.
Hay area harvested is estimated at 1.36 million acres, up 1% from last year.
Tobacco harvested area is estimated at 4,700 acres, down 6% from last year. Lowest harvested acres since 2004.
For the complete 'Prospective Plantings' report, go to:
https://usda.library.
cornell.edu/concern/
publications/x633f100h.
USDA announces no actions under program
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) has announced that it does not expect to purchase and sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for crop year 2022, which runs from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023.
The CCC is required by law to quarterly announce estimates of sugar to be purchased and sold under the Feedstock Flexibility Program based on crop and consumption forecasts.
Federal law allows sugar processors to obtain loans from USDA with maturities of up to nine months when the sugarcane or sugar beet harvests begin. On loan maturity, the sugar processor may repay the loan in full or forfeit the collateral (sugar) to USDA to satisfy the loan.
The Feedstock Flexibility Program, initially authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, was reauthorized by Congress in the 2018 Farm Bill as an option to avoid sugar forfeitures. Under the Feedstock Flexibility Program, if USDA is faced with the likelihood of loan forfeitures, it is required to purchase surplus sugar and sell it to bioenergy producers to reduce the surplus in the food use market and support sugar prices. USDA's March 8, 2023, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report projects that crop year 2022 (fiscal year 2023) U.S. ending sugar stocks are unlikely to lead to forfeitures. Therefore, USDA does not currently expect to purchase and sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for crop year 2022.
USDA will closely monitor domestic sugar stocks, consumption, imports and other sugar market variables on an ongoing basis and will continue to administer the sugar program as transparently as possible using the latest available data. The next quarterly estimate regarding the Feedstock Flexibility Program will occur on or before July 1, 2023.