A new tool offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture will let producers see and analyze more data. The agency’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is now offering the Ag Census Web Maps application, a dynamic online tool that gives users rapid access to Census of Agriculture maps and data about crops and plants, livestock and animals, economics, farms, and operators in more than 3,000 counties across the United States.
“The Ag Census Web Maps give farmers, ranchers, researchers, planners, non-profits, and industry easy access to important data that impact nearly every aspect of agriculture,” said NASS Administrator Joseph T. Reilly.
The Ag Census Web Maps application is interactive. Users can navigate to an area of interest, print the map, display and extract a county’s data, download maps and accompanying data for use with common software programs, and integrate the web map services with other mapping applications to visualize and analyze 2012 Census of Agriculture data in a geospatial context. NASS developed the application in collaboration with USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS).
The Census of Agriculture provides a detailed picture every five years of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the United States. Census data are used to make decisions about many things that directly impact farmers and ranchers, including:
community planning
store/company locations
availability of operational loans and other funding
location and staffing of service centers
farm programs and policies
Officials say the app offers county-level maps and statistics in five broad categories: crops and plants, economics, farms, livestock and animals, and operators.
You can check out the app here: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/
Online_Resources/Ag_Census_Web_Maps/Overview