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News Release
12-14-09
POPULATION CENSUS CAN BENEFIT
RURAL WEST VIRGINIANS SAYS AG COMMISSIONER
West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass is urging West Virginia’s rural citizens to take approximately 10 minutes to fill out the population census form that will be arriving in the mail in March 2010.
“So often, the voice of rural America is not heard, especially in a small state such as West Virginia,” said Commissioner Douglass. “But just because our population is spread out doesn’t mean we don’t count.”
Traditionally, rural West Virginian farmers realize the importance of government surveys, he noted. West Virginia’s response rate to the 2007 Census of Agriculture was nearly 88.5 percent, while the state’s response rate to the last population census was only around 64 percent.
The Census Bureau is making a special effort in 2010 to get an accurate count of rural residents. In West Virginia, hundreds of enumerators are expected to help follow up on unreturned census forms.
“Not every rural West Virginian is a farmer, but hopefully our residents will respond at the rate our agricultural community typically does. An accurate count can result in a number of benefits for our state,” said Commissioner Douglass.
Accurate census data is important for a number of reasons. Besides being the basis for the apportionment of representatives to Congress, data is also used to locate new stores, hospitals, highways, schools and other facilities.
Individual data is strictly confidential. The Census Bureau is prohibited by law from sharing individual responses with other government agencies, including law enforcement.
The first census was conducted in 1790, and the U.S. Census Bureau was established in 1902. For more information, go to 2010census.gov.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
“The Basis of All Wealth is Agriculture.”
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