EXPLANATORY NOTES

INTRODUCTION

1 This publication contains preliminary estimates from the 2014-15 Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP) Collection including gross values of crops, livestock disposals and livestock products.

2 Final data at national, state and sub-state levels will be available from mid-2016.

3 Estimates for rice, cotton, sugar cane cut for crushing and eggs have not been included in this preliminary release, but will be available when final estimates are released in mid-2016.

CALCULATING VACP

4 VACP has three major categories:

· the value of crop production
· the value of livestock disposals (domestic slaughtering and exports of live animals)
· the value of livestock products (including wool and whole milk)

5 The gross value estimates in this publication are derived by the multiplication of price and quantity of production estimates of agricultural commodities.

6 Quantity data for most crops have been sourced from the 2014-15 Rural Environment and Agricultural Commodities Survey (REACS) and relate to the year ending 30 June 2015. Remaining commodity data (livestock disposals and livestock products excluding eggs) are obtained from other Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collections, with some information from non-ABS sources. A copy of the 2014-15 REACS survey form can be found in Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary, 2014-15 (cat. no. 7111.0), under the Downloads tab

7 Price data refers to the average unit value of a given commodity realised in the market place (market value).

COLLECTION METHOD

8 Price information is obtained from other ABS collections, as well as from non-ABS sources, including marketing authorities and industry sources.

9 The method of collection of relevant prices and the costs of marketing for agricultural commodities varies considerably between states and territories and between commodities. Where a statutory authority handles marketing of the whole or a portion of a product, data are usually obtained from this source. Information is also obtained from marketing reports, wholesalers, brokers and auctioneers. For all commodities, values are in respect of production during the year (or season) irrespective of when payments are made. For that portion of production not marketed estimates are made from the best available information and, in general, are calculated on a local value basis.

RELIABILITY OF ESTIMATES (SAMPLE ERROR)

10 The estimates in this publication are based on information obtained from respondents to the REACS for the year ended 30 June 2015. The sample population for the REACS is 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.

11 One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error (SE) which indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied by chance because only a sample was taken or received. There are approximately 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 establishments had responded or been reported for, and approximately nineteen chances in twenty that the difference will be less than two SEs.

12 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. Most published estimates have RSEs less than 10%. For some states and territories with limited production of certain commodities, RSEs are greater than 10%. Estimates that have an estimated RSE between 10% and 25% 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% should also be used with caution as they are subject to sampling variability too high for most practical purposes.

Estimates with an RSE greater than 50% at the national, state and territory level have been suppressed in this publication as they are considered too unreliable for general use. Where estimates for data items have been suppressed at the national, state or territory level, they have also been suppressed at the sub-state level. Where figures for individual states or territories have been suppressed, they have been included in relevant totals.

RSEs for all published estimates are available on request.

13 A table with RSEs for selected estimates of gross values follows:

RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS, Gross values of selected commodities - Year ended 30 June 2015
	Aust.	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Barley	2.5	4.3	5.1	6.4	6.4	4.4	8.1	-	-
Wheat	1.6	2.6	4.4	5.9	4.3	3.4	4.0	-	-
Canola	2.6	5.0	6.6	25.2	10.5	4.0	12.9	-	-
Sorghum	4.0	7.2	38.2	4.5	28.7	48.5	-	-	-
Oats	3.9	6.9	7.5	12.6	12.6	5.7	11.1
Total livestock and other disposals	1.1	2.5	2.5	2.1	2.7	2.4	3.4	2.2	1.8
Total livestock products	2.2	3.1	3.8	16.4	5.9	4.1	2.9	-	0.8
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

ROUNDING AND CONFIDENTIALISATION

14 Where figures for individual states or territories have been suppressed for reasons of confidentiality, they have been included in relevant totals.

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

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

16 Preliminary estimates for area and production from the 2014-15 Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP) Collection are available at the same time as preliminary quantity and production estimates. These estimates are located in Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary, 2014-15 (cat. no. 7111.0). The full range of final quantity and production estimates from the 2014-15 REACS will also be published from mid-2016, in Agricultural Commodities, Australia, 2014-15 (cat. no. 7121.0).

17 The full range of final estimates from the 2014-15 VACP Collection will be published in Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, 2014-15 (cat. no. 7503.0) from mid-2016.

18 Current publications and other products released by the ABS are listed under the Statistics page on the ABS website. The ABS also issues a daily Release Advice on the website which details products to be released in the week ahead.

ABS DATA AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

19 As well as the statistics included in this and related publications, the ABS may have other relevant data available on request. Inquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.

GENERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT

20 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated. Without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.