General Questions

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What is the the definition of a farm?

What products are available from the 2002 Census of Agriculture?

Were some 2002 data released prior to June 2004?

How much fluctuation was there from the"Preliminary" numbers?

What is the process for requesting special tabulations of data?

What items are new in the 2002 Census?

Can I obtain information from individual reports?

Was the Federal Register used to get public comment on the Agriculture Census?

How do I contact NASS for answers to additional questions?

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A FARM?

For the purpose of the Census of Agriculture, a farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. The $1,000 value is not adjusted for inflation.

For the 1997 and 2002 census, operations receiving $1,000 or more in Federal government payments were counted as farms, even if they had no sales and otherwise lacked the potential to have $1,000 or more in sales.

If a place does not have $1,000 in sales, a "point system" assigns dollar values for acres of various crops and head of various livestock species to estimate a normal level of sales. Point farms are farms with fewer than $1,000 in sales during 2002 but have points worth at least $1,000. Point farms tend to be very small. Some, however, may normally have large sales, but experience low sales in a particular year due to bad weather, disease, changes in marketing strategies, or other factors. The census of agriculture uses the point system to help identify farms meeting the current definition. For 2002, a farm that had $500 point value and $500 in government payments is considered a farm. This would not have been true for the 1997 census. For farms with production contracts, the value of the commodities produced is used, not the amount of the fees they receive.

WHAT PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE 2002 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE?

Volume 1 Geographic Area Series of the 2002 Census of Agriculture includes agricultural statistics for the United States, each State and Counties. Data will also be available for the five Outlying Areas of Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa on the NASS Web site and in printed publications in the coming months. Volume 1 for the United States, each State and Counties will be available on the Web site in a variety of formats, including PDF files, text files, and as a queriable database. Printed copies of the publications can be ordered from the National Technical Information Service's Subscription Sales Order Desk by calling 800-999-6779. A CD-ROM will also be available to extract all Volume 1 data for each county into separate files and thus the ability to create different reports for individual counties. To order a CD-ROM, or for additional information regarding other electronic data products, call 800-727-9540 or write to NASS Customer Service Center, Room 5835 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250.

Specialty Products, available on the Web site starting in the summer through fall 2004, include State and County Highlights, County Profiles, American Indian Special Study Results, and Top Commodities.

Volume 2, Subject Series includes the Agricultural Atlas, Congressional District Ranking, ZIP Code Tabulations of Selected Items, Congressional District Tabulations, and History of the Census of Agriculture. The Atlas, Congressional District Ranking and Tabulations will be available in the summer 2004, with other Volume 2 subject series to follow in late winter 2004.

Volume 3, Special Studies includes the Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey (2003) and the Census of Aquaculture (2005), which will be available on the Web site and in printed publications in late winter 2004 and winter of 2006 respectively.

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WERE SOME 2002 DATA RELEASED PRIOR TO JUNE 2004?

Yes. Preliminary census data at the US and State levels were released on February 3, 2004 to highlight new items in the demographics sector, such as multiple operator data and number of women operators. Complete tabulated census of agriculture data for the US, States, and the 3,000 plus counties are now available and include most items in the preliminary release. Due to new systems and new methods, plus the need to do more detailed review of all county and commodity data, complete data were not available until June 3, 2004.

HOW MUCH FLUCTUATION WAS THERE FROM THE "PRELIMINARY" NUMBERS?

Changes to data in the preliminary release were minimal. However, the amount of change at the State level varies. Changes were the result of data analysis and review after the February 3 publication.

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WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR REQUESTING SPECIAL TABULATIONS OF DATA?

Data users may find that they would like different data summaries than those which appear in the NASS publications. This might be different category breaks than published by NASS, or different cross tabulations of variables. Users who wish to obtain special tabulations must submit formal requests. Requests may be made online on the NASS Web site (click on "Special Tabulations" on the Census of Agriculture page), or by writing the NASS Data Lab, Room 5907 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250, or contacting the local NASS State office. All requests must include the purpose and data elements needed and are subject to approval. All special tabulations will be subject to non-disclosure compliance, are publishable once generated, and will be made available to anyone requesting them. Depending on the complexity of the request, charges may apply for special tabulations. The time required to complete special tabulation requests will depend on the complexity of the request and the volume of requests NASS receives. Alternatively, researchers may apply to work at a NASS site using the NASS Data Lab to tabulate data for approved studies. Results must be reviewed to assure no disclosure of individual reports and results must be published

WHAT ITEMS ARE NEW IN THE 2002 CENSUS?
In addition to the changes to the demographic items discussed in the Frequently Asked Questions, there are several items that have not been published in previous censuses. The new items are:

Crops:

Acres harvested for processing of individual vegetables
Acres of "all" berries harvested and "all" berries irrigated
Total acres of dry hay, haylage, grass silage, or greenchop was cut or harvested
Total irrigated acres from which dry hay, haylage, grass silage, or greenchop was cut or harvested
Acres used to raise of certified organically produced crops
Acres covered under a Federal or other crop insurance policy
Number of Christmas trees cut
Short rotation woody crops - "acres in production" and "acres harvested"
Gallons of maple syrup produce

Livestock:

Hogs and pigs - type of operation and producer. Six categories of "type of operation" ("farrow to wean," "farrow to feeder," "farrow to finish," "nursery," "finish only") and three categories of "type of producer" ("independent grower," "contractor or integrator," and "contract grower)" were identified
Inventory of cattle on feed

Economic:

Use of Native American Indian reservation land for production of crops and livestock (in regions 8 and 10 only), e.g. number of acres of cropland, and percent of livestock on the reservation
Additional information about the "principal operator" (i.e. live on an American Indian Reservation, number of persons living in the household, and was the principal operator a hired manager)and characteristics of other individuals that were involved in day-to-day management decisions
"Amount (dollars) received for participation in other Federal farm programs" was added to the report form. (In the 1997 Census of Agriculture, this item was derivable from information provided by respondents.)
Value of:

Depreciation expenses claimed for all capital assets" was added to production expenses. Previously, depreciation was excluded from production expenses.

Certified organically produced commodities sold

Use of:

Production contracts and custom feeding and quantities of crops and livestock and/or livestock products delivered under these arrangements

Migrant workers

Computers for the farm business

Access to the Internet
Amount of money received from federal programs other than CRP, WRP, and CCC
Household information about the principal operator (number of persons living in the household and percent of total income from the agricultural operation)
Characteristics of individuals involved in managing the operation other than the principal operator
Number of acres:

Covered under a Federal or other crop insurance

Used to raise certified organically produced crops

Grain storage capacity (bushels) for whole grains and oilseeds on December 31, 2002
Rent and lease expenses for machinery, equipment, and farm share of vehicles" was added to the "rent"question in the production expenses section
Value of production expenses paid by the landlord(s)
Acres of cropland and pastureland on which animal manure was applied
Number of households that share in the net farm income derived from the operation
Percent of principal operator's total household income came from "this operation

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CAN I OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM INDIVIDUAL REPORTS?

No. NASS only publishes statistical aggregates, and no information from individual operations will ever be disclosed. This leads to the suppression of some cells in the tables published in the census if they contain information that could be used to derive an individual operation's information. These items are marked with a "D" to indicate that there are data, but they cannot be published. Individual operation data are protected from any disclosure, including requests from legal authorities or under the Freedom of Information Act. Only authorized persons working for NASS can access NASS data and only for approved statistical purposes. Any offender shall be guilty of a class E felony and imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined no more than $250,000, or both. Summary data from the Census are available to everyone, but NASS will never disclose individual reported information.

WAS THE FEDERAL REGISTER USED TO GET PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE AGRICULTURE CENSUS?

Yes. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, a "Notice of Intent to Seek Approval to Conduct the Census" was filed in the Federal Register in May 2001. Comments were invited on: the necessity of the census; the validity of the methodology and assumptions; ways to enhance quality, clarity, and utility if the information; and ways to reduce the burden of collection. Comments had to be received by July 31, 2001 to be considered.

NASS also obtained input from numerous data users and the USDA's Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics in order to help determine the data that would be collected and methodology used to conduct the Census of Agriculture.

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HOW DO I CONTACT NASS FOR ANSWERS TO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS?

There is a NASS Contacts list posted on the NASS Web site at Census Contacts or you may call the NASS Customer Services Office at 800-727-9540.

For questions about specific commodities or data items, you can go to Contact a Specialist. Select your commodities or data items (e.g. cattle) and the specialist in charge will appear.

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Last modified: 12/09/08