# Census of Agriculture

**Agency:** Agriculture (USDA)  
**Account:** National Agricultural Statistics Service  
**Source document:** National Agricultural Statistics Service · p. 12  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/budget/agriculture/census-of-agriculture  

> **Trust:** parsed from the agency Congressional Justification. Approximate, **not summable**, verify at the cited page.

## Funding ($M)

| Fiscal year | Basis | Amount |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FY2026 | enacted | 46.0 |
| FY2027 | request | 48.5 |

## Agriculture (USDA) discretionary budget authority (OMB PBDB — authoritative)

FY2027 $20.40B, FY2026 $33.40B. This is the agency total, not a sum of the parsed lines.


## What this funds

The Census of Agriculture, conducted every five years, offers a detailed data series at the national, state, and county levels. It captures various aspects of the agricultural economy, such as the number buildings, farm size, market value of agricultural production, acreage of numerous crops, and inventory of livestock and poultry. It also covers extensive farming practices including irrigation, marketing, and the use of government-sponsored programs. The results of the 2022 Census of Agriculture were published in 2024. Additional data products from the 2022 Census will be released Census of Agriculture - Outlying Areas During 2024, NASS completed data collection from farmers for the agriculture census in each of the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The census of agriculture is the only source of official agriculture statistics for the territories. Census of Agriculture data for these U.S. territories were released in February 2025 (Northern Mariana Islands), March 2025 (U.S. Virgin Islands), and April 2025 (Guam and American Samoa). NASS concluded data collection, editing, and analysis for the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Special Study. The primary purpose of the Irrigation and Water Management survey is to provide a wide range of irrigation information covering water usage, irrigation practices, irrigation by type, irrigation by crop, expenses, sources of irrigation, purchase of energy for pumping water by power source, and use of recycled or reclaimed water. The official statistics from the 2023 Irrigation and NASS completed data collection, editing, and analysis for the 2023 Census of Aquaculture Special Study. The Census of Aquaculture collects detailed information relating to production methods, surface water acres and sources, production, sales, point of first sale outlets, and aquaculture distributed for restoration, conservation, or recreational purposes. The official statistics for the 2023 Census of Aquaculture were released in December 2024. NASS completed its final preparations to conduct the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties. This special census study, conducted as a follow-on survey to the Census of Agriculture, is the leading source of detailed production and sales data for this specialized industry. The official statistics for the 2024 Census of Horticultural Specialties are scheduled for release in 2026. Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agriculture Land (TOTAL) NASS completed its final preparations to conduct the 2024 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey. The 2024 TOTAL survey is conducted in collaboration with the Economic Research Service. The survey consists of two components: (1) a survey with a target population of owners of agricultural land who are not also agricultural operators and (2) a survey with a target population of owners of agricultural land who are also agricultural operators. The official statistics for the 2024 Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land are scheduled for Operational Transformation to Streamline Business Process NASS is advancing efforts to modernize legacy systems, aligning with its Strategic Plan to improve efficiency, customer experience, and resource utilization. NASS is modernizing its data dissemination practices by developing a new web application to replace traditional PDF reports. This new service will empower the data user to determine how they view the data while providing easily customizable visualizations. To further improve the user experience, NASS is creating a public-facing chatbot specifically designed to interact with NASS Quick Stats data which remains the backbone of our This chatbot will be properly domained to ensure accurate information and prevent hallucinations. Currently, NASS has been working with a contracting group, who has built a rough proof of concept in their environment for NASS to explore. NASS plans to import the concept into co-pilot studio, conduct training sessions, and then test and expand to release for public consumption. In 2025, NASS increased its @usda_nass account following on X from 69,790 to 71,600, an increase of about 1% with a net gain of 1,810 followers. NASS continued its monthly #StatChat series on X with 14 #StatChats, inviting users to ask questions directly to NASS representatives following the The NASS YouTube account had about 180 new subscribers for a total of 1.93k. The video clip "How to Find 2022 Census of Agriculture Data" had the most views, while the "January Crop Production and Grain Stocks ASB and WASDE Briefing" had the most impressions in 2025. 19 ASB Livestreams were NASS has livestreamed the Secretary of Agriculture's data report briefings since March 2022. Data briefings are streamed on NASS's YouTube channel five minutes after NASS reports are released to the public. Livestreaming improves access for the public, increasing transparency and understanding of NASS's and World Agricultural Outlook Board data and processes. For anyone unable to attend a livestream, a recording is posted to YouTube following the data release. A calendar of the livestream Work Performed for Others - Reimbursable Program Reimbursable Work for Federal, State, and Private Organizations NASS conducts surveys and offers technical expertise to other federal agencies, state governments, and private organizations on a reimbursable basis. The statistics generated address specialized needs the overall quality and consistency of statistical information produced for other organizations' requirements. The areas of consultation include questionnaire and sample design, data collection and and assistance to foreign countries seeking to enhance their statistical programs. NASS partners extensively with external state governmental organizations, universities, and agricultural commodity organizations to provide high-quality, rigorous, and standardized statistical NASS provides statistical services on a fee-for-service basis and fully recovers all costs. To date, NASS has worked on more than 1,600 projects since beginning this centralized process in 2012, which includes about 98 such projects in 2025. NASS relies on the discretion of cooperators to fund these projects; however, the number of projects in 2025 is anticipated to be similar to past years. The Agricultural Resources Management Survey (ARMS) is conducted annually by NASS in partnership with the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS). The survey provides critical data for estimating farm income, analyzing chemical use in field crops, calculating production costs, and compiling financial data for farm businesses and households. These data support both agencies' estimation programs for farm production expenditures. For the 2025 crop year, ARMS Phase I targeted cotton and potatoes, Phase II focused on production practices and returns for potatoes, and Phase III (conducted in 2026) will include cotton and hogs. The County Cash Rents Survey, authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill, provides USDA with data used to determine rental rates for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). NASS is required to conduct this survey at least annually to estimate average market dryland and irrigated cash rental rates at the county level. The 2025 survey is designed to produce statistically reliable estimates for cropland and pasture rental rates, covering at least 20,000 acres per county. These data support the Farm Service


**Where it sits:** Civilian / Non-Defense › Agriculture (USDA) › National Agricultural Statistics Service › National Agricultural Statistics Service › National Agricultural Statistics Service: Discretionary Appropriations


*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. government. Civilian line dollars are parsed from agency Congressional Justifications and are approximate.*