QUALITY DECLARATION - SUMMARY
INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.
RELEVANCE
Historical Selected Agriculture Commodities, by State (1861 to Present) (ABS Cat. No. 7124.0) presents historical state and national agricultural production data from the annual Agricultural Survey or Agricultural Census. The commodities include the area and production of wheat, oats, barley, maize and potatoes, the number of sheep, cattle, pigs and horses, and the tonnes of wool produced. This time series information is available for New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Australia.
TIMELINESS
Historical Selected Agriculture Commodities, by State (1861 to Present) (ABS Cat. No. 7124.0) is generally published within 6 months of the release of Agricultural Commodities, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 7121.0), which presents state and national data from the current year's Agricultural Survey.
ACCURACY
The latest series of data added to this publication are obtained from the 2006-07 Agricultural Survey and are based on a response rate of 89% and has been extensively edited. The resultant estimates have been checked against earlier years and relevant other sources, including contact with data providers, to ensure the accuracy of the estimates produced.
COHERENCE
The 2006-07 Agricultural Survey and 2005-06 Agricultural Census were conducted using a new and expanded frame based on the Australian Taxation Office's Australian Business Register (ABR). The expanded frame means that estimates from these collections may not be directly comparable with earlier years when the ABS used and maintained its own register of agricultural establishments. It is recommended that care be taken when comparing estimates from these collections to earlier years. Detailed explanatory and technical notes relating to this change in frame were included in the 2005-06 PDF release of Agricultural Commodities, Australia (ABS Cat. No. 7121.0).
Further information on the history of agricultural commodity collections, including changes to scope and reference periods, can be found on the ABS website in the Agricultural Survey collection overview document.
INTERPRETABILITY
The agricultural survey and five-yearly agricultural censuses provide a broad range of data about Australian agricultural commodities through a suite of standard products or as data customised for individual requirements. Detailed explanatory notes are provided with each publication to assist users in determining and specifying their data requirements and to understand the concepts underlying the data.
ACCESSIBILITY
An extensive range of data are available from a variety of agriculture based collections.
If the information you require is not available as a standard product or service, then ABS Consultancy Services can help you with customised services to suit your needs. Inquiries should be made to either the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Agriculture Client Services on (03) 6222 5939.
Quality Declaration 
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