E189: New Ag Census Flashes Warning Light for US Ag

The Census of Agriculture is a long standing USDA tradition, stretching all the way back to the department’s founding. A few weeks ago, the department revealed its latest iteration, updating the 2017 numbers with the latest figures that captured the impacts of trade wars, the global pandemic, and half a decade of extraordinary uncertainty. To help us tackle this huge trove of agricultural data, and put it in the context of how it’ll impact the department going forward, we’re joined today by DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton.  Today, he’ll give us some essential background on how the Ag Census works, why it matters, and dig into the top line numbers that are making waves. We’ll discuss the fastest growing livestock sector, USDA’s new interest in measuring precision ag adoption, and the freshest information on the proliferation of cover crops and reductions in ag acreage and farm numbers. We’ll also hear about other key farm demographics and how changes around irrigation and other farm input uses might reflect a changing economic situation in rural America. Then we’ll check on the farm bill, how updated ag data might impact the whole of ag policy making, and the prospect of moving ag labor policy toward the finish line.