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
Final estimates from the 2014–15 Rural Environment and Agricultural Commodities Survey (REACS) will be presented in five publications:
Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0) contains detailed statistics on land use, crop and horticultural area and production, livestock numbers and farm management and demographic information. The publication presents data on a national, state and territory basis. Sub-state level data, including Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Statistical Area 4 (SA4) levels and Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions, will be released in data cubes attached to the publication.
Water use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0) contains detailed statistics on agricultural water use, including details of pastures and crops irrigated, irrigation expenses, sources of water and volume of water applied. The publication presents data on a national, state and territory basis. Sub-state level data, including ASGS SA4 and NRM regions and the Murray-Darling Basin region, will be released in data cubes attached to the publication.
Land Management and Farming in Australia (cat. no. 4627.0) provides information on a variety of management practices being adopted by Australian agricultural businesses including cropping and pasture management, soil management and fertiliser use. Data are presented at national, state and territory and NRM region levels.
Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia (cat. no. 7503.0) presents value of production statistics. It contains detailed statistics on the gross and local values of crops, livestock and livestock products. The publication presents data on a national, state and territory basis. Sub-state level data, including ASGS SA4 and NRM regions, will be released in data cubes attached to the publication.
Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production (cat. no. 4610.0.55.008) presents the gross value of agricultural commodities that are produced with the assistance of irrigation. The publication presents data at national, state and territory, NRM region and Murray-Darling Basin region levels.
TIMELINESS
Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0) and Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia (cat. no. 7503.0) were published in March 2016. Water use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0) is released in April 2016. Land Management and Farming in Australia (cat. no. 4627.0) will be released in May 2016 with Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production (cat. no. 4610.0.55.008) published in late 2016.
Preliminary data presenting principal crops and livestock numbers and gross values of production for principal agricultural commodities for the 2014–15 reference period were released in the publications Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 7111.0) and Value of Principal Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 7501.0) respectively, in December 2015.
ACCURACY
Data from the 2014–15 REACS are based on a response rate of 80% and have been extensively quality assured. The resultant estimates have been checked against earlier years' estimates and other relevant sources, including contact with data providers and industry bodies, to ensure the accuracy of estimates produced.
All estimates in this publication are subject to sampling error. For more information about these errors, refer to the Explanatory Notes within this release.
COHERENCE
The 2014–15 REACS was conducted using a frame based on the Australian Business Register (ABR). This is the same frame used initially for the 2005–06 Agricultural Census, for subsequent annual agricultural surveys, and the 2010–11 Agricultural Census. Estimates are generally comparable across these collection periods, however it is recommended that care be taken when comparing estimates from these collection cycles to earlier years, i.e. prior to 2005–06. Detailed explanatory and technical notes relating to this change in frame were included in the 2005–06 PDF release of Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0).
Most estimates in this publication are directly comparable to previous reference periods. However, estimates of ‘Other’ categories including, ‘Other fruit’ and ‘Other vegetables’ may not be directly comparable to previous issues due to changes in the composition of these categories.
INTERPRETABILITY
The 2014–15 REACS and the previous Agricultural Commodity Surveys (including the Agricultural Resource Management Surveys) and five-yearly Agricultural Census provide a broad range of data about Australian agricultural commodities through a suite of standard products or as data customised for individual requirements. Time series data are available for some estimates that were collected through previous surveys/censuses. 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 is available from a variety of agriculture-based collections on the ABS website.
If the information you require is not available as a standard product or service, the ABS Consultancy Services can assist with customised services to suit your requirements. Inquiries should be made to the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
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