The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is encouraging potato producers and agribusinesses to respond to the annual Potato Processing Survey.

Potato processors make up a significant share of the United States economy. In recent years, the majority of potatoes grown within the U.S. were utilized for processing, and most potato exports consisted of processed potatoes. The results of this survey will be used to establish final USDA statistics about 2017 potato crop processing for official processing states. Data collected includes the total quantity of potatoes processed as chips, frozen French fries, other frozen, starch, flour, other dehydrated potatoes, canned potatoes, and other potato products.

NASS will publish the results in the Sept. 13 Potatoes Annual Summary.

"The cooperation of the potato industry is crucial to ensure that your state's potato processing data is accurately represented in national potato statistics," said King Whetstone, director of the USDA's NASS Northeastern Regional Field Office. "NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state and national level data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified."