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 2008-09 Agricultural Survey will be presented in two publications:
Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0), presents statistics from the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey and agricultural collections for previous years (including the 2006-07 Agricultural Survey and 2007-08 Agricultural Resource Management Survey). It contains detailed statistics on crops, livestock, industry and size characteristics of agricultural businesses. The data are collected on a Natural Resource Management (NRM) region and state/territory basis and then aggregated to derive Australian totals.
Water use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0), presents statistics from the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey and agricultural collections for previous years (including annual agricultural surveys from 2002-03 onwards and the 2005-06 Agricultural Census). It contains detailed statistics on agricultural water use, water management practices and irrigation activity - including details of pastures and crops irrigated and volume of water applied. The data are collected on a NRM region, Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) and state/territory basis and then aggregated to derive Australian totals.
TIMELINESS
Both Agricultural Commodities, Australia (cat. no. 7121.0) and Water use on Australian Farms (cat. no. 4618.0) are generally published within 10 months of the end of the reference period. Preliminary data presenting principal crops and livestock numbers for the 2008-09 reference period were released in the publication Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary (cat. no. 7111.0) in November 2009.
ACCURACY
Data from the 2008-09 Agricultural Survey are based on a response rate of 88% and has been extensively quality assured. The resultant value 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 2008-09 Agricultural Survey was conducted using a frame based on the Australian Taxation Office's Australian Business Register (ABR). This frame has been used since the 2005-06 Agricultural Census and for subsequent annual agricultural surveys. The estimates are directly 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).
INTERPRETABILITY
The annual Agricultural Survey and five-yearly Agricultural Census provide a broad range of data about Australian agricultural commodities, agricultural water use and irrigation activity 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 Agricultural Surveys/Censuses, including the 2007-08 Agricultural Resource Management Survey. 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 on the ABS website <www.abs.gov.au>.
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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