California’s Share of Specialty Crop Grants and Census of Agriculture

**California is the nation’s leading recipient of federal grants for specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts and nursery products.

The USDA awarded the state $21.3 million, more than a quarter of grants nationally, to expand the specialty crop consumer market, improve product availability and train growers.

California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross says the 2022 grants will support agriculture and improve “access to healthy California-grown foods.”

**America’s farmers and ranchers will soon have the opportunity to be represented in the nation's only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county and territory.

The USDA will mail the 2022 Census of Agriculture to millions of ag producers across the 50 states and Puerto Rico this fall.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture will be mailed in phases, starting with an invitation to respond online in November, followed by paper questionnaires in December.

**USDA’s Economic Research Service reports the interest expense ratio of farms was 0.04 in 2020, remaining in line with the long-term trend and initial forecasts, despite the pandemic.

The interest expense ratio is calculated by dividing interest expenses by the sum of the value of production and Government payments for a given year.

Interest expenses are the costs incurred by farm operations when debt is used to finance farm activities.