BATON ROUGE (AP) — Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain is encouraging Louisiana's farmers and ranchers to participate in the federal agricultural census.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts the census every five years, aimed at collecting a complete count of all farms, ranches and their operators across the country.
Strain says the census is an important information source to ensure farmers and ranchers are recognized and properly represented.
The agricultural census looks at land use and ownership, production practices, income and spending. Strain's office says the last census in 2012 determined that more than 3 million people operated farms spanning more than 914 million acres.
People who are new to farming can sign up to receive the latest Census of Agriculture report here