USDA NASS Quick Stats API

usda.gov · Government

Government API Key Free & Open Government Agriculture Agriculture Government Open Data

Query the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service database for crop production, livestock, prices, labor, and farm economics data. Over 1 million data points spanning decades of US agricultural statistics.

Authentication

API Key Free API key from https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api. Required for all requests.

Parameter name: key (in query)

Sample Requests

GET Get corn production by state

Returns annual corn grain production in bushels by US state.

https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET?key=YOUR_API_KEY&year=2023&format=JSON&agg_level_desc=STATE&commodity_desc=CORN&statisticcat_desc=PRODUCTION

Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does

curl -X GET "https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET?key=YOUR_API_KEY&year=2023&format=JSON&agg_level_desc=STATE&commodity_desc=CORN&statisticcat_desc=PRODUCTION"

import requests
params = {
    "key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "year": "2023",
    "format": "JSON",
    "agg_level_desc": "STATE",
    "commodity_desc": "CORN",
    "statisticcat_desc": "PRODUCTION"
}
response = requests.get(
    "https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET",
    params=params,
)
print(response.json())

const url = new URL('https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET');
url.searchParams.set('key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
url.searchParams.set('year', '2023');
url.searchParams.set('format', 'JSON');
url.searchParams.set('agg_level_desc', 'STATE');
url.searchParams.set('commodity_desc', 'CORN');
url.searchParams.set('statisticcat_desc', 'PRODUCTION');

const response = await fetch(url); 
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
)

func main() {
	baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET")
	q := baseURL.Query()
	q.Set("key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
	q.Set("year", "2023")
	q.Set("format", "JSON")
	q.Set("agg_level_desc", "STATE")
	q.Set("commodity_desc", "CORN")
	q.Set("statisticcat_desc", "PRODUCTION")
	baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
	targetURL := baseURL.String()
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)

	client := &http.Client{}
	resp, _ := client.Do(req)
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

require "net/http"
require "json"

uri = URI("https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
  "key" => "YOUR_API_KEY",
  "year" => "2023",
  "format" => "JSON",
  "agg_level_desc" => "STATE",
  "commodity_desc" => "CORN",
  "statisticcat_desc" => "PRODUCTION"
})

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"

req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)

res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)

<?php
$url = "https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET?" . http_build_query([
    "key" => "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "year" => "2023",
    "format" => "JSON",
    "agg_level_desc" => "STATE",
    "commodity_desc" => "CORN",
    "statisticcat_desc" => "PRODUCTION"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
    "method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));

Postman Setup Guide

Get Postman ↗

Request a free API key at https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api
Browse parameters at https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/ (use the UI to find valid filter values)
GET https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/api/api_GET/?key=YOUR_KEY&commodity_desc=CORN&...
Key filter params: commodity_desc, statisticcat_desc, year, agg_level_desc (NATIONAL/STATE/COUNTY)
format=JSON returns JSON; format=CSV returns CSV
Limit response with source_desc (SURVEY or CENSUS) to narrow results

What can you build with USDA NASS Quick Stats API?

USDA NASS Quick Stats API is a Government API. Developers commonly use government APIs for:

surfacing public datasets in citizen-facing apps
building transparency and civic engagement tools
accessing legislation, court records, and official data
powering research and journalism tools
creating compliance and regulatory monitoring dashboards

API Key authentication. You'll receive a key after signing up. Send it with every request — in a header or query parameter. Keep it out of client-side code and never commit it to version control. USDA NASS Quick Stats API is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.

New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide · Learn about API keys · What is REST?

Open documentation ↗