USDA NASS to Collect Additional Information on 2020 Local Foods Marketing Practices Survey

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will collect additional information on agricultural products marketed as local foods during 2020. In early 2021, NASS collected detailed data on 2020 local food marketing practices. This information came from farmers and ranchers who had previously reported local food marketing activity on prior surveys and census. In light of the extreme dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic and reliance on previous indicators of local food marketing based on the 2017 Census of Agriculture, contacting additional producers to get the complete picture of local food marketing practices is required. As a result, NASS will collect information from producers who have not indicated prior local food marketing.

Data release, originally scheduled for Nov. 18, will be delayed until this new information and the data collected earlier this year are combined. The 2020 Local Foods Marketing Practices Survey report is now anticipated to be released in early 2022.