USDA is inviting suggestions for the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Conducted once every five years by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Census provides detailed data covering nearly every facet of U.S. agriculture down to the county level.

NASS released the complete 2012 Census of Agriculture results on May 2, 2014. The agency is now planning the content for the 2017 Agriculture Census and is accepting input. Any individual or organization may submit suggestions on questionnaire items to add or delete, as well as any other ideas concerning the Census. There will be another opportunity to provide official comment through the Federal Register process in the coming weeks.

Content suggestions for the 2017 Census will be accepted until Aug. 4, 2014, and can be submitted online here. 

Written suggestions may be mailed to: Census Content Team, Room 6451, 1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250.

To learn more and to access the complete 2012 Census of Agriculture results, visit the USDA Ag Census website.

Fraudulent organic certificates listing the follwoing businesses are in use and have recently been reported to the National Organic Program (NOP): 

Max Sangtum Trading Pty Ltd

Fraudulent certificates may have been created and used without the knowledge of the operator or the certifying agent named in a certificate. The posting of fraudulent certificates does not necessarily mean that the named operator or certifying agent was involved in illegal activity. If an operation named in a fraudulent certificate is certified, its certifying agent identified in the list of certified operations can provide additional information and verifications to the organic trade.

The vigilance of the organic community is a vital force in ensuring organic integrity.  Organic handlers should continue to review certificates carefully, validate with their certifying agents where needed, and send any suspicious certificates to the NOP Compliance and Enforcement team. 

Any use of this certificate or other fraudulent documents to market, label, or sell non-organic agricultural products as organic can result in a civil penalty of up to $11,000 per violation. 

Persons with information regarding the production or use of this or other fraudulent NOP certificates are asked to send information to the NOP Compliance and Enforcement Division.