E-mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov
(518) 457-5570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:  Brent Farley
Monday, May 4, 2009

www.nass.usda.gov/ny



                 NASS PUBLISHES COUNTY-LEVEL CASH RENT DATA

For the first time, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) is publishing county-level data on cash rental
rates for agricultural land, according to Steve Ropel, Director of USDA’s
National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office.

The information, which is available online as of May 1, includes average
rental rates for non-irrigated cropland, irrigated cropland and pastureland
during the 2008 calendar year.

"This data will provide an important decision-making tool for farmers,
ranchers and other landowners," said Stephen Ropel, director of the NASS
New York Field Office. "In addition, USDA agencies will have these new
figures available to help develop and administer important farm programs
used by farmers and ranchers."

Since 1997, NASS has published land value and rental rate data at the state
level. The agency is providing the county data in response to requests from
customers as well the new requirements of the 2008 Farm Bill.

The information is based on data NASS gathered from 700,000 agricultural
producers nationwide during the 2008 end-of-year surveys: the biannual
cattle survey, the biannual sheep and goats survey, the quarterly
crops/stocks survey, the annual acreage and production survey, and the
first-ever county-level cash rents survey.

Ropel noted that complete data may not be available for all counties.

"In some counties, we may not have received enough survey responses to
publish a reliable estimate. In these instances, the estimated rental
values are combined with those of neighboring counties and published as the
‘other county total’ within the district."

The 2008 county-level cash rental rates data is available online at
www.nass.usda.gov through Quick Stats, NASS’s agricultural statistics
database. Users can access cash rental rates at the state, county or crop
reporting district level.

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5-4-09