In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey about 900 cattle operations in Illinois to provide an upto-date measure of U.S. cattle inventories. “This information helps producers make timely, informed business decisions and plan for herd expansion or reduction. It also helps packers and government leaders evaluate expected slaughter volume for future months and determine potential supplies for export,” said Illinois State Statistician Mark Schleusener “Obtaining the current count of cattle will serve as an important decision-making tool for the entire agriculture industry.”
During the first two weeks of January, Illinois producers will have the opportunity to report their beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop, death loss and cattle on feed information. To make it as convenient as possible for producers to participate in the survey, NASS offers the option of responding via the Internet, telephone, or mail.
NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only stateand national-level data in aggregate, ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.
The January Cattle report will be released on Jan. 31.
For more information, contact the NASS Heartland Regional Field Office at (800) 551-1014 or nassrfohlr@usda.gov.
Categories: Illinois, Livestock, Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle