USDA gathers statistics on Georgia cotton
by Mark Wildman

USDA survey enumerators Wayne Adkins (L) and Carlton Farmer (R) conduct a cotton yield survey at ABS Farms in Henderson.

Keeeping good records is vital to the success of American agriculture.

Every crop from every state is tallied by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to maintain a public record of U.S. crop production. Across the country, the NASS conducts very labor-intensive surveys on certain crops, such as cotton.

“This objective measurement study for cotton has been active in Georgia since 1998. It became a part of the program as cotton took its resurgence in the state with the boll weevil eradication programs,” Doug Kleweno, Georgia NASS director, said.

Every season, teams of two head out into Georgia cotton fields and pace off sections to count plants, squares, blooms and bolls as the season progresses.

“When we get out in the field we have to start at the bottom of the plant,” Carlton Farmer, a NASS enumerator who conducts cotton surveys explains. “As you go up the plant you run into your small bolls and blooms. At the top of the plant you have your squares, and we have to count each one of those.”

The Georgia NASS office identifies potential farms to participate in the cotton survey and sends the enumerators to ask the producers to participate. If the farm owner agrees to participate, the state office randomly chooses the field they want the enumerators to survey using aerial photos. Every field and sample plots in the field are chosen randomly.

“When we go to a field to do a sample, we go to the most accessible point in the field,” Farmer explained. “NASS predetermines how many rows we go over and how many paces we go out in the field to set the sample up.”

Every stage of the crop is counted and recorded.

“Our survey data lets the USDA, farmers and people in the cotton industry know what is going on with the cotton crop,” Wayne Adkins, who is Farmer’s enumerator partner, said. “It lets them know what the size of the crop will be, so they can make decisions based on real figures instead of wondering how much cotton is out there.

The survey is intended to give a true representation of what the cotton crop looks like in a vital cotton producing area.

“The information that is collected from the 160 cotton survey plots throughout Georgia is aggregated at the state level,” Kleweno said. “We look at the cotton measurement information along with grower survey information and cotton ginning information. From these three data points we will make a recommendation on what the cotton yield is for that current month.”

The most important part of this process is producer cooperation, which is done strictly on a volunteer basis.

“We are really dependent on the growers and the producers to support this activity by allowing us to come into the field to obtain these measurements,” Kleweno said.

ABS Farms in Macon County participated in the survey for the first time this year. The farm grows about 1,800 acres of cotton.

“This survey is a good thing because it’s nice to know the yield potential throughout the nation because it affects cotton prices,” ABS Farms Manager Scott Moore said. “Participating in the survey is convenient. They come out and do the survey, and we’re not bothered a bit.”

By law, all producer information and survey results gathered in the cotton survey are kept confidential, as is all information gathered by the USDA in any survey, Kleweno says. The results of the cotton survey are compiled and presented in the crop production report between the 10th and 12th of each month. The report is issued to the public as a press release and is available on the NASS web site www.nass.usda.gov/ga or may be obtained by calling the office at (800)253-4419.

Mark Wildman is a reporter for GFB’s Georgia Farm Monitor. Visit www.farm-monitor.com/webstories to view his story that aired on the Monitor.