# 2017 USDA Ag Census



## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Just received my new USDA census form. Slight change from years past (as I remember). It is now a law that you have to return the form. As I remember (and I might be wrong), it used to be voluntary.

Any way, I'm wondering if anybody else is thinking of skipping it? I'm thinking this is a pretty subtle plan: First, they make it voluntary, then mandatory to return it, then mandatory to make it accurate, then..... At least, that's what I'd do if I was the USDA and had some ulterior motive.

Ralph

It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.


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## woodland (May 23, 2016)

Up north it's always been mandatory to fill out. One guy I know about 10 years ago decided not to and magically got a "random" audit by the Canada Revenue Agency the following year (never found anything wrong). I don't answer their phone calls but eventually they mail one out and if you put some numbers in it they're appeased for a little while.

If you do ignore it let us know how it goes????


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I got one in the mail for the first time ever last week. It did say on the outside of the envelope that it was required by law that you fill it out. Not sure what info it even wanted because you had to go online to do it.

It came to my grandparents address though. I burned it. Since it didn't come to my home address I will say I never received it. Not exactly sure how they got my info or grandparents address.


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## Uphayman (Oct 31, 2014)

As long as the DNC computers aren't involved....... Russians are probably subcontracted to tabulate the results. Didn't see what the penalties were for non compliance..........probably a never ending onslaught of phones messages from a turban head located in India.


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## ozarkian (Dec 11, 2010)

i did my online the other day. It seemed less painful than the written ones from the past. It is a waste of my time, I ask nothing of the USDA and get nothing. I am sure they sell info to the equipment manufacturers, based on some of the questions. Example: Equipment age based on certain dates.

Sounds like marketing opportunities to me.


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## Riverside Cattle (Jun 4, 2008)

It's been my understanding that it's the law that they (the USDA) perform the survey. It's not the law that the farmer fills it out.

So they are kinda blurring the line by saying it's the law to fill it out.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Have never filled one out but then we get the call from USDA and mom usually give them some bullshit answers. Don’t know how accurate you gotta be with it!


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

rjmoses said:


> Just received my new USDA census form. Slight change from years past (as I remember). It is now a law that you have to return the form. As I remember (and I might be wrong), it used to be voluntary.
> 
> Any way, I'm wondering if anybody else is thinking of skipping it? I'm thinking this is a pretty subtle plan: First, they make it voluntary, then mandatory to return it, then mandatory to make it accurate, then..... At least, that's what I'd do if I was the USDA and had some ulterior motive.
> 
> ...


I didn't open MINE...never do. They always say "Your response required by law" or something substantially similar. Been gettin 'em for years (4 or 5 a year as they KEEP sending em if they don't have a response) and ain't NEVER answered a single one

Can't re-read it right now to confirm as my "response" is to throw it in the trash. That *IS* a response isn't it?

Mark


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

The last one I filled out I didn't even know half the answers to the questions. They seem to think I keep better records of things they think are important then I do. But it is on record that I grow some acres of pineapples.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I wonder how they get your name and info to send you one of those surveys? Like in my case I have only been farming for 5-6 years. How did they know I started farming? I have never taken any government subsidies or any kind of programs through the county extension office so I'm not sure how they got my name?

My opinion is since I have never taken any of their money my business is none of their damn business so I'm not filling out that survey.


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## NewBerlinBaler (May 30, 2011)

FarmerCline said:


> I wonder how they get your name and info to send you one of those surveys? Like in my case I have only been farming for 5-6 years. How did they know I started farming? I have never taken any government subsidies or any kind of programs through the county extension office so I'm not sure how they got my name?
> 
> My opinion is since I have never taken any of their money my business is none of their damn business so I'm not filling out that survey.


You filed Schedule F on your income taxes.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

rjmoses said:


> Just received my new USDA census form. Slight change from years past (as I remember). It is now a law that you have to return the form. As I remember (and I might be wrong), it used to be voluntary.
> 
> Any way, I'm wondering if anybody else is thinking of skipping it? I'm thinking this is a pretty subtle plan: First, they make it voluntary, then mandatory to return it, then mandatory to make it accurate, then..... At least, that's what I'd do if I was the USDA and had some ulterior motive.
> 
> ...


No, it's been "required by law" for a long time...

I've already sh!t-canned mine.

If they want the information, they can call IRS and get it from them-- they already have it. Not wasting time on a bunch of friggin' worthless bean counters looking for a BETTER WAY TO SCREW US...

Which is all Washington DC *EVER* does ANYWAY...

Later! OL J R


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

stack em up said:


> Have never filled one out but then we get the call from USDA and mom usually give them some bullshit answers. Don't know how accurate you gotta be with it!


Last time I did one for Grandma, I figured I didn't have the exact figures in front of me and weren't getting paid to look it up, so I'd "estimate" the number... I figured if it were in a factor of 10 of the actual number (from 1/10th to 10X the actual number) that's "close enough for gubmint work".

Lousy bastards do nothing but work to screw the farmers over at every turn... I'll be DAMNED if I give them information to know JUST HOW FAR THEY CAN TURN THE SCREWS ON US...

Every [email protected] one of them deserves to STARVE TO DEATH...

The enemy isn't in Pyongyang or Moscow or Beijing-- it's in WASHINGTON DC...

Later! OL J R


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

FarmerCline said:


> I wonder how they get your name and info to send you one of those surveys? Like in my case I have only been farming for 5-6 years. How did they know I started farming? I have never taken any government subsidies or any kind of programs through the county extension office so I'm not sure how they got my name?
> 
> My opinion is since I have never taken any of their money my business is none of their damn business so I'm not filling out that survey.


Yeah Grandma got one of those "enhanced" ones with about fifteen pages of additional REALLY DETAILED BUSINESS INFORMATION... SPECIFICALLY *INCOME* RELATED... but interestingly enough in reading the questions, NOT ONE SINGLE QUESTION related to how much it COST to produce that much "income"...

I scratched through that whole section of the [email protected] thing and wrote "confidential business information" on it and wrote in BS guesstimates on the rest and mailed it in... good enough for the boss (she got skeered by all that legal mumbo-jumbo on the front).

I used to get calls 2-3 times a year from the TASS-- No, not the old Soviet Union State Propaganda Organization (though it's a fitting name for what these [email protected] do) but the "Texas Ag Statistics Service"... always asking about production and what crops I had in and how many acres of this and that and how it was doing, how much hay I'd baled, how many cattle on hand, etc. etc.etc...

I finally told them to go pound sand... I refused to participate... They gave me all this BS spiel about how "important their work was" and how "important it was that I be counted" and all this UTTER CRAP...

I told them "No, the information I give you goes to feed these [email protected] speculators in the big multinational agribiz's-- like those UTTERLY WORTHLESS USDA "crop estimate" reports... they find out EXACTLY how many acres of a given crop is planted, EXACTLY how well its progressing in various parts of the state (or country) and then USE THAT INFORMATION to MANIPULATE THE MARKETS and SCREW THE FARMER out of as much money as they possibly can... SO NO, I WILL NOT participate and give you the knife you use to cut my throat...

"That is proprietary business information-- and therefore NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. When Ford and GM and Dodge start announcing ALL their new plans, their production quantity plans and raw material (like steel and aluminum, etc) buying plans MONTHS in advance for ALL THE WORLD TO SEE, then I *MIGHT* reconsider... but they won't, because that is PROPRIETARY BUSINESS INFORMATION and therefore SECRET-- and they know their COMPETITORS *WILL* use that information to their own advantage, and THEIR DETRIMENT, IF they can get ahold of that information... that's called "INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE"...

They finally quit calling.

Too bad farmers can't or WON'T learn that lesson for themselves... we're our own worst enemies most of the time-- and we make it RIDICULOUSLY EASY to be taken advantage of...

Sooner people learn that *NOTHING* Washington DC does is *IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS* (but wholly in THEIR best interests) the better off we'd be...

Later! OL J R


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

We have on several occasions not filled ours out. They won't let it go in our case they always send a person to the farm to sit down and fill it out for you


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

This year we will fill ours out and will check out doing it on line .I wonder if I don't and they spend money trying to track me down and pay someone to come to our farm,, Why? We sign the dairy up for MPP so they have the data . Fsa is accurate to the .1 acre and they have the data . I am required to purchase crop insurance which has yield and all the fsa data built in . They subsidize they have the data . Why the survey ?


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

NewBerlinBaler said:


> You filed Schedule F on your income taxes.


 Maybe but I have been for the past 5-6 years and this was the first survey I got. They also sent the survey to the wrong address. None of my mail comes to my grandparents address. But I do use their address for a shipping address though since their driveway is accessible to a semi truck while mine is not.


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