USDA to collect vegetable chemical use data

St Paul, Minn. – Over the next two months, vegetable growers in the United States will have the opportunity to provide first-hand information on their production practices when they participate in the Vegetable Chemical Use Survey, conducted by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

“This survey will give vegetable producers the opportunity to explain how they use fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, and manage pests responsibly to produce a safe, high-quality food supply,” said Dan Lofthus, State Statistician of the NASS Minnesota Field Office. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts a review of tolerance levels for re-registration of pesticide products. Part of the review includes evaluating USDA’s estimates on agricultural chemical use. Your response will help ensure that any data impacting environmental policies will accurately reflect your pesticide and fertilizer needs.

In Minnesota, data will be collected for carrots, green peas, and sweet corn. Between October 10 and December 5, NASS representatives will be conducting in-person interviews with growers to gather information on their fertilizer and chemical use and pest management practices.

“The Vegetable Chemical Use Survey will help ensure that USDA and other agencies have the most accurate, up-to-date fertilizer and chemical use information, straight from the source – producers themselves,” Lofthus explained.

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

The results of the Vegetable Chemical Use Survey will be released on NASS’s website at www.nass.usda.gov/results on August 5, 2015.