The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today it will survey nearly 23,000 farmers and ranchers nationwide to gather detailed information about conservation practices on American farmland.
The 2025 Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) survey, a joint effort between USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, will support the third round of national and regional cropland assessments since the program’s inception.
“Responding to the survey gives farmers the opportunity to provide the most accurate picture of conservation practices on their cropland,” said NASS Administrator Joseph Parsons. “Information from CEAP will help inform programs that benefit producers by protecting the natural resources on which their livelihoods depend.”
NASS representatives will visit agricultural operations in August and September 2025 to identify eligible survey participants. Selected farmers will be contacted between November 2025 and March 2026 to complete the survey, which will cover production practices, chemical applications, tillage methods and irrigation systems.
The collected data will help evaluate future resource needs for soil, water and habitat protection while improving technical and financial assistance programs for conservation practices. NRCS will combine survey results with modeling to report on cropland conservation trends from 2024 through 2026.
All information provided will remain confidential, with results published only in aggregate form. The final report will be available on the CEAP Cropland Assessments webpage.
