The Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will conduct the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, beginning this month. First conducted in 2015, the Census of Agriculture special study will look at local and regional food systems and provide new data on how locally grown food in the United States are marketed and sold. The results will be available in November 2021. The 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey is part of the Census of Agriculture Program and is required and protected by law. Federal laws require producers to respond and USDA to keep identities and answers confidential. Farmers and ranchers who receive the survey may complete it securely and conveniently online at www.agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. The deadline for response is February 16, 2021. The survey will ask producers about their production and local marketing of foods during the 2020 calendar year, including the value of food sales by marketing channels such as farmers markets, restaurants, and roadside stands.