Spring has finally come to Central New York. One of my friends said driving around this week was like living in time lapse, with one day first bare tree limbs, the next a green haze on the branches, and then little buds.
And that reminded me that many reporters will be doing agriculture stories. So here are five sites to help you beef up your reporting with statistics or reports:
- National Agricultural Statistics Service gives stats of crops, livestock, market values and more — by state
- Purdue University’s Agricultural Safety and Health Program research reports provide interesting story leads [hat tip to Mike McGraw of the Kansas City Star for noting this on a NICAR-L post].
- Type “farmers market federation” into a search engine along with your state’s name to find farmers’ markets such as this one in Massachussetts. Or look on farmersmarket.com
- Poke around at your state’s agricultural department to see what reports or databases exist there. Use this master list from USDA
- See what reports your local cooperative extension service has produced or find sources there, via this USDA directory
Can’t wait for snap peas and fresh peaches!