NASS collecting additional information on local food practices

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will be collecting additional information on agricultural products marketed as local foods during 2020. Earlier this year, 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 a census. In light of the extreme dynamics brought on by COVID-19 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 now a necessary step. As a result of the current conditions, NASS will collect information from producers who have not indicated prior local food marketing. The data release, originally scheduled for November 18, will now be delayed until the new information and the data collected earlier this year are combined. The 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey report likely won’t get released until early 2022.