News Release

NEWS RELEASE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE United States Department of Agriculture • Washington, DC 20250 Ag Statistics Hotline: (800) 727-9540 • nass.usda.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: NASS-Media@usda.gov

USDA to Conduct 2025 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C., Month XX, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct the 2025 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, beginning this November. In late November, NASS will mail survey codes to respondents with an invitation to reply online. NASS will follow up by mailing the full questionnaire in early January. Last conducted in 2020, this Census of Agriculture special study will look at local and regional food systems and provide new data on how locally grown food in the United States are marketed and sold. The results will be available in December 2026.

"Federal funding and policies for local and regional food systems were greatly expanded by the last three Farm Bills and it is our job as a federal statistical agency to help measure this part of the agriculture sector,” said NASS Administrator Joseph Parsons. “We are excited to provide data on marketing practices for local food that will help inform policies and business in this area.”

The 2025 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey is part of the Census of Agriculture Program and as such is required and protected by law (Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113). These federal laws require producers to respond and USDA to keep identities and answers confidential. Farmers and ranchers who receive the survey may complete it securely and conveniently online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. The deadline for response is February 18, 2026.

The survey will ask producers about their production and local marketing of foods during the 2025 calendar year, including the value of food sales by marketing channel such as farmers markets, restaurants, and roadside stands. Other questions seek information on the value of crop and livestock sales, marketing practices, expenses, federal farm program participation, and more.

Local foods production is linked to USDA priorities, including facilitating rural prosperity and economic development along with providing all Americans access to a safe, nutritious, and secure food supply. Researchers, policymakers, farmers, ranchers, industry professionals, and USDA personnel will use the resulting information in their work on local and regional food and agricultural systems.

For more information about the 2025 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, visit nass.usda.gov/go/local-food.

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NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.

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