Florida Farm Bureau partners with the 2010 Sunshine Census Public Awareness Campaign

Florida Farm Bureau is partnering with the 2010 Sunshine Census Public Awareness Campaign to help achieve an accurate count of agricultural producers and farm employees living in Florida in 2010. With a complete count, Florida’s rural residents stand to enjoy more opportunities for an improved quality of life.

“Florida Farm Bureau recognizes the importance of an accurate census to farmers and their employees,” said President John L. Hoblick. “We are asking all of our members to complete the census and to encourage their employees to do the same.”

• Participating in the census is easy. One of the shortest census forms in history, the 2010 Census form asks 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. More than 130 million addresses across the nation will receive a census form in March 2010. Although most housing units will receive a form by mail, some may require a census worker to deliver one in person, particularly in rural areas. Many who need to fill out the form in a language other than English will have special assistance and forms written in their own language.

• The census is important. Every year, the federal government distributes more than $400 billion to state, local and tribal governments based on census data. This is money that could contribute to the development of schools, roads, hospitals, job training and job safety programs, child-care centers.

• Census responses are safe and confidential. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share answers with anyone, including other federal agencies and law enforcement entities. All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

To ensure that your communities are eligible for funding for important services, it is essential to obtain a complete and accurate count of the number of people residing in your area. Florida Farm Bureau is committed to helping farmers and employees understand that participation in the census is easy, important and safe. We urge you to work with us to dispel fears about the census, to build awareness of all the good that can come from accurate census data and to urge your workers to fill out the form and send it back by April 1.

We will continue to share information about our partnership with the 2010 Sunshine Census Initiative and ways you can lend support in the coming months. To learn more about the census in the meantime, visit sunshinecensus2010.com or 2010census.gov

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general-interest agricultural association with about 140,000 member-families statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, the Federation is an independent, nonprofit agricultural organization. More information about Florida Farm Bureau is available on the organization’s Web site, http://FloridaFarmBureau.org