Industry Info
AHC Urges Horse Community to
Take Part in USDA Agricultural Census
The U.S.
Department of
Agriculture’s
(USDA) Nation-
al Agricultural
Statistics Service
(NASS) is prepar-
ing to conduct
its 2017 USDA
Census of Agri-
culture. Horses
will be included
in the Census.
Every five years,
USDA-NASS
conducts an
agriculture census
to determine the
number of U.S. farms and ranches and gather vital infor-
mation about U.S agriculture, including the horse com-
munity. The census is a valuable tool to help the USDA
determine land use and ownership, livestock
populations, operator characteristics, produc-
tion practices, farm income as well as other
important information.
The announcement of the USDA-NASS
census comes as the American Horse Coun-
cil has initiated their 2017 Equine Industry
Economic Impact Study. The AHC eco-
nomic study questionnaire will be finalized
this month and begin collecting data in the
following weeks. These two separate, yet
concurrent studies will provide both the
industry and the public with a strong image
of the state of the industry in 2017. The AHC
strongly encourages everyone who is offered
the opportunity to participate in either, or
both, of these studies to do so. The economic
impact and the census are critical to promot-
ing the horse industry.
The AHC continues to promote the US-
DA-NASS census due to the critical need for
the horse community to be properly account-
ed for in the federal governments agricultural
6 • Walking On
findings. The information collected by the Census will
be used to develop federal and state agricultural policy
for the next five years. It’s vital all farms and ranches
with horses participate in the census so the USDA, and
the nation at large, has accurate information regarding
the size and scope of the horse community.
Farm or ranch owners who participated in the last
Census in 2012 will automatically be mailed a survey
that can be filled in and mailed back. If a farm or ranch
was not part of the 2012 Census or has not received a
form in the mail, the owner can go to the USDA’s census
website http://www.agcensus.usda.gov and clicking on
the ‘Make Sure You Are Counted’ button through June.
According to the USDA guidelines for the Census, a
farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agri-
cultural products, including horses, were produced and
sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year.
Further information on the 2017 Census of Agricul-
ture can be found on the USDA’s website http://www.
agcensus.usda.gov.