Indiana Collegiate Farm Bureau Members Experience USDA Lockup Report

Members of Indiana Farm Bureau’s Collegiate Farm Bureau chapters attended the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service September crop report lockup in Washington, D.C. today.

“We always receive great feedback from members who attend the lockup event. It’s such a unique experience to get a behind-the-scenes look at how USDA prepares and releases the crop reports to the public,” said Randy Kron, INFB president. “Each August and September we invite a small group of members to attend the lockup. This year, those months’ reports are very important due to the difficult spring planting conditions many Hoosier farmers faced this season.”

The Collegiate Farm Bureau members from Purdue, Huntington and Vincennes universities who attended the lockup had the unique opportunity of hearing the September crop report first. Because having early access to the report would present a trading advantage, USDA staff undergoes a process to encrypt the data and physically secures the area until the information is released to the public. Collegiate Farm Bureau members surrendered their phones and entered a secured room in order to view the report first.

During their time in Washington, D.C., the 11 Collegiate Farm Bureau members also visited several places of interests, including Arlington National Cemetery, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the American Farm Bureau office.

“The goal of this trip is to show young people some of the opportunities available to Farm Bureau members,” said Kron. “The individuals in this group are already engaged with Farm Bureau at the collegiate level, and it is our hope that this experience will help keep them engaged after their time in college.”

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