WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2005 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) today launched its newly redesigned web site.

With a simple click of the mouse, there is now more agricultural data available at your fingertips. The site has been completely revamped to better serve the needs of NASS customers, whether farmers, researchers, government officials, journalists, teachers or others.

“NASS continues to strive to meet the needs of all of our data users. The new www.nass.usda.gov site will further our mission by providing a user-friendly and abundant resource of statistics in service to U.S. agriculture,” said R. Ronald Bosecker, NASS administrator.

“Anyone interested in U.S. agriculture will find that the new site is not only informative and easy to use, but that it makes the most of the latest technology,” added Bosecker. “The NASS web development team incorporated a variety of tools to enhance the site’s usability and enrich its content.”

Technological enhancements include a new Google-powered search engine, an SVG interactive mapping application, an RSS news feed and XML technology. To complete the redesign effort, the site mirrors the look and feel of the official USDA web site.

At the same time, the site continues to provide comprehensive statistical data on every facet of U.S. agriculture. Features such as the Quick Stats Agricultural Statistics Database offer the ability to search for data by commodity, state(s) and year(s). National, state and county level data can then be downloaded for easy use in a database or spreadsheet.

NASS data users are encouraged to bookmark the site and visit it often, as it will be frequently updated with new information. USDA reports, such as the monthly Crop Production publication, will continue to be available online just minutes after release. Additionally, up-to-date information on surveys currently being conducted, as well as upcoming initiatives such as the 2007 Census of Agriculture, is just a click away.