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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2017)
Page 8 The Skanner March 22, 2017 News USDA Director: Agriculture Census Important for Black Farmers By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor PHOTO BY SHALYN WHETSTONE A t first glance, King Whetstone might present an unusu- al visual. First, he appears younger than his 40 years — but that’s not why he might stand out. Whetstone once played basketball at Prairie View A&M Universi- ty, a historically Black university and the sec- ond-oldest institution of higher learning in Texas, renowned for its engi- neering and agriculture. On the basketball court, Whetstone played against such NBA greats as Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce and helped his team to its only NCAA Tournament appearance in 1998 where they lost to Kansas in the first round. Instead of competing tics Service (NASS) pre- pare for the Census of Ag- riculture. “‘Ag Day’ is a day to rec- ognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agricul- ture. Tues- day, March 21 marks the 44th anni- versary of King Whetstone stresses the importance of the ‘Ag Day’ and USDA Census for Farmers. every year, p ro d u c e r s , in the NBA, Whetstone is agricultural promoting “National Ag associations, corpora- Day” — “Ag” as in Agri- tions, universities and culture. government agencies And, he’s also trying to and others join to recog- reach out to farmers — nize the contributions particularly minorities of agriculture,” said — as the United States Whetstone, the first Af- Department of Agricul- rican-American North- ture (USDA) and the Na- eastern Regional Direc- tional Agriculture Statis- tor of USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS), which covers the six New En- gland states, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Mary- land. The theme this year is, “Agriculture: Food for Life.” While Ag Day tops the current list of priorities, Whetstone and others at the NASS make it clear that the census is the primary focus this year, which counts as a com- prehensive summary of agricultural activity for the United States and for each state. The census includes the number of farms by size and type, inventory and values for crops and livestock, operator char- acteristics, and other analysis. “It’s a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who op- erate them,” said Whet- stone, a Greenville, Tex- as native who has spent more than 20 years at the USDA in various lo- cations including in New York, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Arkansas and Washing- ton, D.C. He now lives in Penn- sylvania with his wife of 15 years, April, and daughter, Shalyn. Whetstone said even small plots of land — whether rural or urban — growing fruit, vege- tables or some food an- imals count during the census if $1,000 or more of those products have been raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. NASS has created a new web form for the census to make it easier for re- spondents to participate. Also, mailings, tele- phone calls and other forms of contacting farmers are planned for the census, taken every five years. It looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, produc- tion practices, income and expenditures. “Our goal is to make sure that we have a com- “ to respond, but stresses that it’s a priority. “Part of my job includes making sure farmers want to respond to our surveys and censuses and that researchers choose to use our data because it is the most accurate and unbiased,” Whetstone said. In 2012, the census re- vealed that the number of Black farmers in the U.S. stood at 44,269, a 12 percent increase over the previous survey five years earlier. Nationally, Black farm- ers made up 1.4 per- cent of the country’s 3.2 million farmers; while 33,371 African-Ameri- cans counted as princi- pal operators – the indi- vidual in charge of the farm’s day-to-day opera- tions, a nine percent in- crease over the previous census while principal operators of all farms de- clined by four percent. Although farms with Black operators tend to be smaller than others and with fewer acres and lower sales, Black princi- pal operators sold $846 million of agriculture products in 2012, includ- ing $502 million in crop sales and $344 million Black principal operators sold $846 million of agricul- ture products in 2012, includ- ing $502 million in crop sales and $344 million in livestock plete count,” Whetstone said. “The census [data] is used to help shape the fu- ture of agriculture now and in the years to come, so farmers are helping themselves by partici- pating.” Through the census, producers can show the nation the value and im- portance of agriculture, and they can help influ- ence the decisions that will shape the future of American agriculture for years to come, ac- cording to the USDA. By responding, pro- ducers are helping them- selves, their communi- ties, and all agriculture across the country and they’re also in line to re- ceive various grants and other benefits that might be available for farmers. Officials stress that accu- racy in reporting is key. African-American and other minority farmers are of interest to Whet- stone, an African-Amer- ican who oversees a diverse department of about 45 individuals. Whetstone said that it’s historically been a tough task getting Blacks and other minority groups in livestock while oper- ating 3.6 million acres of farmland. Still, getting farmers, especially minorities, to respond to the census is important to Whetstone who, despite his hard- wood success, has farm- ing in his blood. Recently, he discovered a World War I draft card of ancestor Neal Whet- stone, which listed his occupation as “farmer.” Whetstone’s paternal grandfather also farmed in Lincoln, Texas and a maternal grandfather, Lafayette Garrett, raised cattle in the south. “I have found that farmers respond to my agency’s requests for information when they understand how offi- cial government statis- tics help them manage risks, conserve natural resources and promote a healthy agricultural production and market- ing system in which they benefit,” Whetstone said in a posting on the USDA website. To sign up for the ag- ricultural census, visit https://www.agcensus. usda.gov.