WASHINGTON – The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently urged the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reverse its decision to cancel the July cattle inventory survey along with the county-level estimates for crops and livestock.

“The decision to discontinue these surveys and reports was not made lightly, but was necessary, given appropriated budget levels,” the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) said. 

After this change in data collection Zippy Duvall, president of the AFBF, wrote a letter to the USDA emphasizing the importance of the surveys, especially the July cattle report. Farm Bureau expressed its disappointment in NASS’s decision to discontinue these critical reporting tools and wants the department to reconsider its decision.

“Eliminating county-level yield and production data for crops and livestock will also severely impact research from our land-grant institutions and only place the US farther behind its trade competitors,” Duvall wrote. “Recent research by USDA’s Economic Research Service showed that the US trails its global competitors in public agricultural research.”

The organization noted that the two reports on the total US cattle inventory, published on Jan. 31 and late July, give farmers, ranchers, researchers and other data users a full picture of supplies in the US cattle sector at the beginning and middle of each year.

Duvall added that the reports allow for a fair assessment of the cattle market for a six-month period. 

“Eliminating the mid-year report puts the market in the dark for the second half of the year, removes market transparency and increases market volatility,” AFBF said. “Data will only be available to those who can afford to collect it, further threatening competition in the packing sector.”

AFBF also pointed out that losing the cotton survey may increase uncertainty throughout the summer and early fall for the cotton market, which could undercut research that affects risk management programs, including crop insurance.