NEWS RELEASE

United States Department of Agriculture
NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE
OKLAHOMA FIELD OFFICE
2800 North Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105-4207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	
February 2013
Contact: Wilbert Hundl, Jr.
(888) 525-9226


USDA SURVEY FARMERS' PLANTING INTENTIONS FOR 2013 

Oklahoma City, OK - What are the top crops going to be for the 2013
growing season? The March Agricultural Survey conducted by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS) will survey 82,000 U.S. farmers in March 2013 to determine their
plans for the upcoming growing season. 

"Each year, the agriculture industry eagerly awaits USDA's Prospective
Plantings report, which provides the first survey-based estimates of
U.S. farmers' planting intentions for the year," said Wilbert Hundl,
Director of the NASS Oklahoma Field Office. "The March Agricultural
Survey provides the factual data that underpins these projections,
making it one of the most important surveys we conduct each year." 

NASS will mail the survey questionnaire in late February, asking
producers to provide information about the types of crops they intend to
plant in 2013, how many acres they intend to plant and the amounts of
grain and oilseed they store on their farms. NASS encourages producers
to respond via the Internet but also welcomes mail or fax responses and
offers the opportunity for a telephone or personal interview to those
producers who did not respond by the deadline. 

NASS will compile and analyze the survey information and publish the
results the annual Prospective Plantings report and quarterly Grain
Stocks report, both to be released on March 28, 2013. 

As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is
confidential by law. "NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and
publishes only state-and national-level data, ensuring that no
individual operation or producer can be identified," stated Hundl. 

All reports are available on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov. For
more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Oklahoma
Field Office at (888) 525-9226. 

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NASS provides accurate, timely, useful and objective statistics in
service to U.S. agriculture. We invite you provide occasional feedback
on our products and services. Sign up at
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/subscriptions and look for "NASS Data
User Community."

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a
complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil
Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or
call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).