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EXPLANATORY NOTES


INTRODUCTION

1 This publication contains estimates for commodities collected in the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey. It contains detailed statistics on land use, broadacre crops, horticulture, livestock numbers and industry characteristics of agricultural businesses.


GENERAL

2 In 2007-08, an Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) was run with a reduced set of commodities compared to the Agricultural Survey/Census of previous years. The ARMS was a combination of a reduced Agricultural Survey and a benchmark survey of land management practices undertaken by agricultural businesses as well as a survey of management responses to adverse seasonal conditions experienced by affected agricultural businesses. In 2008-09, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) returned to the Agricultural Survey which collected a greater range of agricultural commodities and livestock breakdowns than the 2007-08 ARMS.

3 Expanded horticulture and livestock commodities information can be found in the data cubes attached to this publication (cat. no. 7121.0). Estimates for sub-state geographies, specifically Statistical Division (SD) and Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions, will also be released in data cubes attached to this publication. Additional data on wheat storage and use, as well as grain storage capacity are also available for downloading.

4 Agricultural water use data collected as part of the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey will be released in Water Use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0). Sub-state water data, for SD, NRM and Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), will be included as data cubes.

5 Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.


CROPS, PASTURES AND HORTICULTURE

6 Statistics on area and production of crops relate, in the main, to crops sown during the year ended 30 June. Statistics of perennial crops relate to the position at 30 June and the production during the year ended on that date, or fruit set by that date.


LIVESTOCK SLAUGHTERING AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS

7 Livestock slaughtering and livestock products, including milk and wool data, and poultry slaughtering are no longer included in this publication. Further information can be found in the publication Livestock Products, Australia (cat. no. 7215.0).


INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION

8 The industry classification used in this publication is the 2006 version of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). Prior to the 2005-06 issue of this publication, estimates were based on the ANZSIC 1993 edition. ANZSIC 2006 was developed to provide a more contemporary industrial classification system taking into account issues such as changes in the structure and composition of the economy, changing user demands and compatibility with major international classification standards. For more information, please refer to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006 (cat. no. 1292.0).


STATISTICAL UNITS USED

9 Since 2005-06, the ABS has used an economic statistics units model on the ABS' Business Register (ABSBR) to describe the characteristics of businesses and the structural relationships between related businesses. The units model is used within large and diverse business groups to define reporting units that can provide data to the ABS at a suitable level.

10 Respondents to the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey were drawn from the ABS Business Register.


SCOPE AND COVERAGE

11 The scope of the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey included all agricultural businesses recorded on the ABS Business Register (ABSBR) above a minimum size cut-off. The ABSBR is based on the Australian Business Register (ABR) which is administered and maintained by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

12 A minimum size cut-off of $5,000 was applied to determine whether a business was in-scope for the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey. The measure of size was based on the ABS' Estimated Value of Agricultural Operations (EVAO) or a derived value based on Business Activity Statement (BAS) turnover.

13 While the ABSBR does not include all agricultural businesses in Australia, it provides improved coverage from the former ABS maintained Agricultural Survey frame, as most businesses and organisations in Australia need to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN) from the ATO for their business operations. The ABR based register is also more up-to-date as it excludes agricultural businesses with cancelled ABNs and incorporates regularly updated information on agricultural businesses from the ATO.

14 For the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey, a response rate of 88% was achieved from a sample of approximately 38,000 agricultural businesses selected from an in-scope population of approximately 171,000 agricultural businesses.


RELIABILITY OF ESTIMATES (SAMPLE ERROR)

15 The estimates in this publication are based on information obtained from a sample drawn from the total agricultural business population in scope of the collection, and are subject to sampling variability; that is, they may differ from the figures that would have been produced if all businesses had been included in the survey. One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error (SE) which indicates the extent to which an estimate might vary by chance because only a sample was taken. There are about two chances in three that a 'sample' estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if all businesses had responded, and about nineteen chances in twenty that the difference will be less than two SEs.

16 In this publication, 'sampling' variability of the estimates is measured by the relative standard error (RSE) which is obtained by expressing the SE as a percentage of the estimate to which it refers.

17 Most published national estimates have RSEs less than 5%. For some states with limited production of certain commodities, RSEs are greater than 10%. Estimates that have an estimated RSE between 10% and 25% are annotated with the symbol '^'. These estimates should be used with caution as they are subject to sampling variability too high for some purposes. Estimates with an RSE between 25% and 50% are annotated with the symbol '*', indicating that the estimate should be used with caution as it is subject to sampling variability too high for most practical purposes. Estimates with an RSE greater than 50% are annotated with the symbol '**' indicating that the sampling variability causes the estimates to be considered too unreliable for general use. Separate indication of the RSEs of all estimates is available on request.

18 A table with RSEs for selected commodities follows:

RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS OF SELECTED COMMODITIES, at 30 June 2009
	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Barley for grain, production	6.1	4.3	9.3	3.3	5.5	5.5	-	-	2.6
Canola, production	6.8	10.5	58.8	6.3	5.6	8.1	-	-	4.3
Lupins for grain, production	12.9	15.1	-	16.7	4.2	10.1	-	-	3.9
Oats for grain, production	6.6	8.6	31.8	10.2	9.3	10.3	-	38.3	4.7
Wheat for grain, production	3.6	4.6	5.5	2.6	2.1	9.8	-	21.5	1.7
Oranges, production	5.9	14.6	14.6	7.0	6.4	-	43.0	-	4.7
Carrots, production	8.7	2.6	19.3	7.8	7.9	7.6	-	-	4.0
Potatoes, production	5.9	9.1	10.5	6.0	13.4	4.7	40.8	-	3.1
Total meat cattle	4.9	3.8	3.1	6.0	6.2	4.5	1.4	6.0	2.1
Total milk cattle	6.5	4.5	10.1	9.2	9.2	6.9	70.6	-	3.2
Total sheep	3.3	3.7	7.2	2.6	3.4	2.2	54.4	8.0	1.7
Total pigs	15.9	6.9	7.1	7.7	7.6	8.7	39.0	-	5.5
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

• Agricultural Commodities: Small Area Data, Australia (cat. no. 7125.0)
• Livestock and Meat, Australia (cat. no. 7218.0.55.001)
• Livestock Products, Australia (cat. no. 7215.0)
• Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 7111.0)
• Value of Principal Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 7501.0)
• Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia (cat. no. 7503.0)
• Water Use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0)

• Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0)
• Australian National Accounts: State Accounts (cat. no. 5220.0)