The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is planning to interview almost 800 fruit growers from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina this fall. The survey will center on chemical use in fruits.
NASS officials will collect information on bearing acreage, pest management practices, including acres treated and application rates, and pesticide application, including acres treated and rates applied to 12 different crops.
Growers in eight other states can also expect to hear from NASS as the agency collects comprehensive fruit production practices information.
“Growers benefit from providing their information because the resultant data are used to re-register products they use. The data also illustrate the industry’s environmental practices and assure the quality of U.S. food to consumers here and around the world,” said Anthony Prillaman, director of the NASS Southern Region Field Office. “I encourage every grower to take the time to respond.”
NASS representatives will call growers to arrange in-person interviews. Survey respondents are encouraged to have their spray records available for reference. If the services were contracted, growers will be asked to provide the interviewer consent to access those records.
Data from the survey will be published online in NASS’s Quick Stats database next year. The database and all NASS reports are available at www.nass.usda.gov. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Southern Region Field Office at (800) 253-4419.
