U.S. Census of Agriculture

Victoria CalderonDavid Luckenbach

National Agricultural Statistics ServiceUnited States Department of Agriculture

Regional workshop on sampling for agricultural censuses and surveys

Montevideo, Uruguay12-16 December 2016

U.S. Census of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service:

Mission

to providetimely, accurate and useful statistics

in service to U.S. agriculture

U.S. Census of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service:

on-going sample survey program

weekly, monthly, quarterly & annual reports

basic statistics oncrops, livestock, chemical use,

farm demographics, income & expensesover 400 reports each year

120 crop items45 livestock items

U.S. Census of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service:

Agricultural Census

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Purpose:

to provideuniform, comprehensive statistics

on farms & farm productivityfor every county in the U.S.

every 5 years

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Legal Authority:

conducted under legal authoritygranted by United States Code

Title 7, Chapter 55, Section 2204g

type, frequency & geographic scopeconfidentiality of datamandatory reporting

U.S. Census of Agriculture

History:

1840 - 1950 conducted with decennial population census

1925 started mid-decade census

1954 - 1974 conducted in years ending in “4” & “9”

1978 adjusted to new schedule for economic censusesfirst used area frame to measure incompleteness

1982 - present conducted in years ending in “2” & “7”

1997 responsibility transferred fromU.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census to U.S. Department of Agriculture,National Agricultural Statistics Service

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Farm definition:

any place that produced and sold,or normally would have produced and sold,

$1,000 or more of agricultural productsduring the census year

~ currently about 2.2 million farms ~

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Uses:

analyze structure, productivity & trendsof U.S. agriculture

farmersfarm organizations

agribusinesses & other private sector businessesagriculture-oriented news media

administrative & legislative bodiesFederal, state & local government agencies

develop list sampling framefor agricultural surveys

U.S. Census of Agriculture

5-Year Census of Agriculture Cycle

U.S. Census of AgricultureYear 1 - Direction

Monitor products from previous Census of Agriculture (CoA)

Continue follow-ons from previous Census List building - National Agricultural Classification

Survey (240,000 forms mailed) Begin working on processing and analysis systems Determine Content

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Content Determination

• Consider new content from:– Data Users– Public Comment– USDA– Advisory Committees– NASS Staff

• Consider removing content

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Content Determination – Guiding Principles

• Include items that:– Are mandated/supported by Congress– Are requested by Federal agencies where

legislation called for data to be provided to Congress

– Assist in the evaluation of existing Federal programs

– If omitted, would result in additional respondent burden and cost for a new survey for other agencies or users

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Content Determination – Guiding Principles, cont.

• Include items that:– Are required for classification of farms by

historical groupings– Are needed for improving coverage in the

Census– Provide data on current issues– Improve data quality and accuracy

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Year 2 - Planning

Census of Agriculture Content Test Test new content and systems Focus on improving online respondent experience

List building - National Agricultural Classification Survey (340,000 forms mailed)

Begin working on publication specifications

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Year 3 - Reference

List building - National Agricultural Classification Survey (1 million forms mailed)

Supplemental samples from June Agricultural Survey Used to improve census coverage & determine

misclassification Print all correspondence materials

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Year 4 - Production

Data Collection and Processing Editing and Imputation Data Analysis Summarization, Weighting, and Disclosure Products and Release Planning Prepare for CoA Follow-ons

U.S. Census of Agriculture

Year 5 - Release

Release CoA results

Conduct first of the CoA Follow-ons

Evaluate the 2017 CoA and solicit input for the

2022 CoA from the public

U.S. Census of Agriculture

2017 CoA - Products

• February 2019– U.S. and State, Volume 1

• PDF, Online Database, Web Query Tool– State and County Profiles– Rankings– Web Maps– Outlying Areas– Highlights, Infographics, and Fact Sheets

• March – May 2019– Congressional District Profiles and Rankings– Zip Code Tabulations

Dates and products subject to change

U.S. Census of Agriculture

2017 CoA – Products, cont.

• June – August 2019– Watersheds– American Indian Reservations

• September – October 2019– Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Profiles– Typology– Years on Present Farm of Principal Operator

• November – December 2019– Specialty Crops– History

Dates and products subject to change

U.S. Census of Agriculture

GRACIAS!THANK YOU!

OBRIGADO!