USDA to Survey Oklahoma Cattle Producers
Oklahoma City, OK – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is gearing up to count cattle inventory Nationwide, with plans to contact nearly 10,000 cattle operations during the first two weeks in July.
“The July Cattle Survey provides Oklahoma producers the opportunity to serve as the frontline source of data on cattle” said Wilbert Hundl, director of the Oklahoma Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). “In Oklahoma, we’ll be contacting about 300 operations in order to measure trends in beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop and cattle operations.”
Producers selected for the survey will have the option of responding via telephone, Internet, mail, or personal interview with a local NASS representative.
“No matter how they choose to respond, they are providing an important service to the cattle industry and to U.S. agriculture as a whole,” Hundl said. “Their responses will be compiled with those of their
fellow producers Nationwide, providing the only accurate and comprehensive estimate of the state of U.S. cattle production.”
Results of this survey will benefit cattle producers and the entire cattle industry by providing them with timely accurate information.
“For instance, it helps producers make informed marketing decisions
and plan for herd expansion or reduction. It also helps packers and government evaluate expected slaughter volume for future months and determine potential supplies for export,” Hundl said.
As with all NASS surveys, information provided by respondents is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the privacy of all survey responses and publishes only State- and National-level data,
ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.
NASS will publish survey results in the biannual Cattle report, scheduled for release on July 24.
The report will provide National-level estimates of total inventory, beef cows, milk cows, bulls, replacement heifers, other heifers, steers, calves, and number of calves born during the previous year. This and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.
For additional information, you may call the NASS Oklahoma Field Office at 888-525-9226.
