The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), with assistance from the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVl) Department of Agriculture and the University of the Virgin Islands Cooperative Extension Service (CES) is collecting Census of Agriculture data from all known farmers this summer.
The Census of Agriculture provides the most widely used statistics in the agriculture industry. Typically conducted every five years, it was last collected in the USVI more than 10 years ago due to budget constraints. It is the leading source of statistics about the USVI's agricultural production and the only source of comprehensive, comparable data at the island level. Among other things, the data can be used by local agencies and organizations to provide more effective production and distribution systems for the agricultural community. One of the most important uses of census data is to justify claims of farmers who may suffer damages and losses due to natural disasters, such as hurricanes.
"Census data are used to make important local and national decisions that affect U.S. Virgin Islands farmers and their communities," said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. "We need to hear from all of our farmers in order to provide the most accurate, most helpful information about agriculture in the islands."
More information is available in a news release on the Media Section of the UVI website http://www.uvi.edu/ - and from this direct link.