Agricultural Census

NAME OF ORGANISATION
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

OVERVIEW
The Agricultural Census is the basic source of Australian agricultural commodity statistics.

Frequency: Up until 1996-97, the Agricultural Census was conducted annually, at the end of March. The current strategy is for a 5 yearly census with sample surveys in inter-censal years. The Census originally planned for the reference period year-ended June 2002 was advanced to apply to year-ended June 2001. The next census will apply to year-ended 2006.
Scope: The frame population of the Agricultural Census is all establishments with an Estimated Value of Agricultural Operations (EVAO) of $5,000 or more
Statistical unit: Data is collected at the establishment level.
Information: The Agricultural Census collects area and production data for a wide range of agricultural commodities. This commodity data is used to produce data on the Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP). Information on inputs to the production process (water, fertilisers) is also collected and disseminated.

Major Area of holding
commodity Pastures
categories: Crops
Vegetables
Fruit
Vineyards
Livestock
Breakdowns: Data are available at Statistical Division (SD) and Statistical Local Area (SLA) level as well as county and parish (Victoria) and hundred (South Australia) up until 1996-97. Data are available by Estimated Value of Agricultural Operations(EVAO), Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), commodity and specified size ranges (e.g. herd size).

A number of supplementary collections are run in conjunction with the Agricultural Census, including Beekeeping (ABS funded), Apples and Pears (user funded) and Vineyards (user funded). The number of supplementary surveys run varies from year to year.

PURPOSE
Primary producers, industry organisations and suppliers, and other agricultural service and support industries use agricultural statistics for planning and decision making. The Federal and State Governments make extensive use of agricultural statistics for planning, budgets advisory services and for policies related to marketing agricultural commodities.

The prime objective of the Agricultural Census/Survey is to act as a source of basic agricultural statistics about a wide variety of commodities.

The Agricultural Census is designed primarily to collect data about commodities (including area and production for crops, number of livestock and area irrigated). Data are also available on the number of producers for each commodity, and on the counts of producers by ANZSIC class.

The Agricultural Census is also the major source of commodity data input into the calculation of Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP). VACP is a major output from the survey which is in turn used as an input to the Australian National Accounts.

The 2000-2001 Census also includes questions on:

• Irrigation (partially user funded)
• Fertiliser usage (user funded)
• Soil conditioners (user funded)
• Fallow land (user funded)
• Land preparation (user funded)
• Fencing (user funded)
• Tree plantings (user funded)
• Salinity
• Landcare membership (user funded)

Conceptual framework
The Agricultural Census provides a measure of agricultural activity. The scope is all Establishments with an Estimated Value of Agricultural Operations (EVAO) of $5,000 or above.

An establishment with agricultural activity is usually a single physical location which is used for the production of crops (including fruit and vegetables) and/or for the raising of livestock and the production of livestock products.

Establishments in the agricultural sector were classified in accordance with the methodology described in the 1993 Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANSZIC) (ABS Cat. No. 1292.0).

The ANZSIC codes of agricultural units are determined annually by valuing physical crop and livestock information collected. The valuation procedure allows for the industry classification of individual units to be changed to reflect significant or long term changes in their activities (e.g. a unit may change from the Grain ANZSIC to the Sheep ANZSIC if the farmer changes production patterns).

The procedure provides for a dampening or resistance effect to offset instability in allocation to particular classes of the classification which would arise from short-term factors such as large price movements, floods and drought. To obviate such effects, the valuation procedure takes into account (without double counting) the area of crops sown and numbers of livestock on holdings at a point in time as well as the crops produced and livestock turn-off during the year.

The resultant aggregation of commodity values is termed the EVAO. It should be noted that EVAO is applicable only for industry coding and size valuation purposes. It is not an indicator of receipts obtained by units or of the value of agricultural commodities produced by these units.


1 - The main data collected include:

Area of holding

Pastures - total area, area sown during the reference year
Pasture for seed - area, production

Cereal and non-cereal crops - area, production

Vegetables - area and production (for a variety of vegetables)

Area of orchard fruit trees
Orchard fruit intended for sale
number of trees less than 6 years old,
number of trees 6 years over, and
production
(for a various types of fruit and nuts) .

Other fruit intended for sale
area not yet bearing,
area of bearing age, and
production
(for a variety of fruit).

Vineyards - area not yet bearing, area of bearing age

Livestock - number on holding, number sold during the reference year for:
Cattle and calves
Sheep and lambs
Pigs (additional break-up is user funded)
Other livestock

Wool production - sheep and lambs shorn, wool produced

Lambing and lamb forecasts

Poultry - number on holding, number disposed of during the reference year for:
Layer
Meat chickens
Ducks
Turkeys
Other poultry.

Irrigation
Salinity
Business Operations - including details of permanent employees
Australian Business Number


2 - National User funded questions - Pasture establishment, land preparation, fallow land, irrigation scheduling, soil conditioners, fertilisers, tree plantings, fencing and pig break-up.

Victorian User funded questions (additional) - Landcare membership


3 - Additional data are collected through supplementary surveys. These include:

Beekeeping - number of hives, honey and beeswax production


4 - User-funded surveys include:

Apples and pears - varietal data on:
number of trees under one year old,
number of trees one year to five years,
number of trees six years and over,
production of fresh fruit

Vineyards - varietal data on:
area not yet bearing
bearing area
production for:
wine,
drying,
table and other uses.

Main outputs
Data will be aggregated into statistical tables.

This collection produces number raised final estimates for all agricultural commodities and a number of derived items (aggregates of commodities).
Estimates produced are: Level estimates, Relative Standard Errors (RSEs) of Level estimates, Proportions, Movement of levels, Movement of proportions.
Level of estimates: Australian, State, Statistical Division (SD) and Statistical Local Area (SLA).
Estimates used for: Publication, Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP), Australian Bureau of Statistics DataBase (ABSDB).

Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary (ABS Cat. No. 7111.0)

Preliminary estimates of principal agricultural commodities, including statistics on area and production of principal crops, livestock numbers, lambing, intended matings and comparative data for earlier years.

Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary -- Electronic Publication (ABS Cat. No. 7111.0.80.001)

Agricultural Commodities, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 7121.0)

Final estimates for the main commodities collected in the AS, including statistics on area and production of principal crops, fruit, vegetables, livestock numbers, lambing, intended matings, beekeeping and comparative data for earlier years.

Agricultural Commodities, Australia -- Electronic Publication (ABS Cat. No. 7121.0.80.001)

Integrated Regional Database

Data is available through information consultancies using AgStats, mainframe files or other sources of material. These can be provided by information consultancy staff in each state, staff in the Clients Services Section in the Agriculture Statistics Centre in Hobart and staff in Central Office.

Classifications
Standards used in the Agricultural Census include:

A - Geographical regions
State
Statistical Division (SD)
Statistical Local Area (SLA)

B - Industry ( ANZSIC )

C - Size ( Area of Holding, EVAO)

D - Commodity classes

• Each commodity is given a unique Commodity Code Number (CCN).
• Most commodities will have the same CCN which allows for comparison over time.

Comments and/or Other Regions
Not applicable

COLLECTION FREQUENCY
5 Yearly

Frequency comments
The current strategy is for a 5 yearly census with sample surveys in inter-censal years.

1996/97 Census; 1997/98 Sample; 1998/99 Sample; 1999/2000 Sample; 2000/2001 Census; 2001/2002 Sample.

Following discussions between ABS and Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry Australia (AFFA) in June 2000, a decision was made to advance the Agriculture Census by a year.

COLLECTION HISTORY
2000-01 Agricultural Census brought forward.
1999-00 Agricultural Commodity Survey reference period changed to year ended 30 June.
1997-98 Agricultural Commodity Survey introduced.
1996-97 Long form, all establishments with an EVAO greater than or equal to $5,000
1995-96 Short form, all establishments with an EVAO greater than or equal to $5,000
1994-95 Short form, all establishments with an EVAO greater than or equal to $5,000
1993-94 Long form. This was the first year of the long form/short form cycle.
Change in EVAO level to $5,000 and over.
1992-93 EVAO level to $22,500 and over.
1991-92 Change in EVAO level to $22,500 and over.
1990-91 EVAO level to $20,000 and over.
1989-90 EVAO level to $20,000 and over.
1988-89 EVAO level to $20,000 and over.
1987-88 EVAO level to $20,000 and over.
1986-87 Change in EVAO level to $20,000 and over.
1982-83 Change in EVAO level to $2,500 and over.
Prior to this, EVAO level was $1,500 and over.
Earliest year for which electronic data is available is 1982-83.
Information before 1982-83 is available only in printed form.

DATA AVAILABILITY
Yes