a capture-recapture framework to represent all 
farming operations across all States in the JAS 
sample. 
DATA COLLECTION OUTREACH AND 
PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS 
NASS planned and executed a multi-phase strategic 
communications campaign for the 2012 Census of 
Agriculture, to increase the level of awareness and 
response among all U.S. agricultural producers. 
• Phase 1 ran from October 2011 - July 2012. It 
raised awareness about the census and list 
building, encouraged producers to sign up in 
response to NASS mailings and at community, 
association, and other stakeholder meetings where 
NASS partners reached out. 
• Phase 2 ran from July 2012 - December 2012. It 
notified farm operators and agricultural 
organizations that the census would be mailed in 
December, and encouraged communications 
regarding the census. 
• Phase 3 ran from December 2012 - July 2013. It 
focused on census data collection with messaging 
urging response, reminding operators that it’s-not- 
too-late-to-respond, and thank-you messaging. 
• Phase 4 began in February 2014. It communicated 
information about the data release plan, which has 
four phases: 
■ Phase A (November 2012 - December 2013) 
focused on thanking farmers for then* 
participation in the census and partners for 
their leadership. 
■ Phase B (January 2014 - February 2014) drew 
attention to the preliminary census release. 
■ Phase C (February 2014 through May 2014) 
focused on the final census release. 
■ Phase D (ongoing) continues to focus on the 
census findings as they are released. 
As part of the plan, NASS targeted selective 
communications and outreach efforts on beginning 
and minority farm operators. All of these efforts 
were accomplished through an integrated 
communications program that focused on four 
primary areas: partnership building, local-level 
outreach, public relations, and paid media. External 
support was provided by a private agricultural 
communications agency. 
2012 Census of Agriculture 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
The unifying force behind the 2012 communications 
campaign was the theme “There’s Strength in 
Numbers.” This was accompanied by supporting 
messages and artwork that created a consistent look 
and feel for all census communications. All 
messages and materials served the purpose of 
inspiring action: Grow Your Farm Future - Shape 
Your Farm Programs - Boost Your Rural Services - 
Fill out your Census of Agriculture - Do your part to 
be counted - There ’s strength in numbers. 
Partnership and Local-Level Outreach 
At the national level, NASS officials met with 
leaders from dozens of key agricultural 
organizations, State departments of agriculture, and 
other USDA agencies, to successfully secure their 
support in promoting the census among their 
constituencies. Stakeholders partnered with NASS to 
promote the 2012 Census of Agriculture through 
publications, special mailings, speeches, social 
media, websites, and other communications. In 
addition, through grassroots-level outreach and 
efforts, NASS partnered with a number of 
community-based organizations to reach minority 
and limited-resource farmers and ranchers. All 
national-level outreach was encouraged and mirrored 
at the regional, State, and local levels. Among the 
highlights of these partnership efforts was the 
production of more than 40 television and radio 
public service announcements (PSAs) featuring the 
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, State secretaries, 
directors, and commissioners of agriculture and 
leaders from community-based organizations. The 
PSAs, available in both English and Spanish, 
encouraged farmers and ranchers to respond to the 
2012 Census of Agriculture. 
Coverage of American Indian and Alaska 
Native Farm Operators 
To maximize coverage of American Indian and 
Alaska Native farm operators, special procedures 
were followed in the census. A concerted effort was 
made to get individual reports from every American 
Indian and Alaska Native farm operator in the 
country. If this was not possible within some 
reservations, a single reservation-level census report 
was obtained from knowledgeable reservation 
officials. These reports covered agricultural activity 
APPENDIX A A- 3 
