PRIMARY DATA COLLECTIONS IN AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY

Table 5 - Primary data collections—agriculture

Agriculture	Collection	Frequency	Geography	Scope	Funding	Output themes	Informs enduring goals
ABS	Agricultural Census71	5 yearly	National, State/Territory, Statistical Area 4 (SA4), Statistical Area 2 (SA2), Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions, Murray Darling Basin (MDB) (for water data items only)	A census of all businesses undertaking agricultural activity recorded on the ABS Business Register (ABSBR) with an EVAO, or equivalent, of $5,000 or more.	Predominantly ABS with a component of user funding.	Commodity production area and volume, natural resource management practices, farm business characteristics, and water use.	1
	Rural Environment and Agricultural Commodities Survey (REACS)72	Annual	National, State/Territory, SA4, NRM regions, MDB (for water data items only)	A sample survey of approximately 35,000 businesses undertaking agricultural activity as recorded on the ABSBR with an EVAO, or equivalent, of $5,000 or more.	Predominantly ABS with a component of user funding.	Commodity production area and volume, natural resource management practices, farm business characteristics, and water use.	1
	Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced (VACP)73 and Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production (GVIAP)74	Annual	VACP: State/Territory, SA4, SA2 (Agricultural Census year only), NRM regions GVIAP: National, State/Territory, NRM regions and MDB.	VACP: Value estimates for commodities are derived from quantity data and price data. Price data are obtained from a variety of sources, including the ABS livestock collections (including traders, producers and wholesalers) and administrative sources. Quantity data are obtained from ABS REACS, Agricultural Census and livestock collections, and non-ABS sources. GVIAP: Is produced from VACP estimates and data from the ABS REACS and Agricultural Census.	ABS funded	Gross value and local value75 of agricultural commodities at the point of production. of agricultural commodities produced (VACP). Gross value of agricultural commodities that are produced with the assistance of irrigation (GVIAP).	1, 5
	Land Management Practices Survey (LAMPS)76	Biennial	National, State/Territory and Australian Agricultural Environments77	A sample survey of approximately 50,000 businesses undertaking agricultural activity as recorded on the ABSBR with an EVAO, or equivalent, of $5,000 or more.	Department of Agriculture	Land management practices data to inform the Carbon Farming Initiative and the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.	3
	Livestock collections78: · Livestock Slaughtering · Poultry and Game Birds Slaughtered Wool Receivals, Purchases and Sales	Monthly: Livestock Slaughtering Quarterly: all livestock collections	National, State/Territory	Livestock Slaughtering: Large abattoirs and other slaughtering establishments that service both the domestic an export markets. Poultry and Game Birds Slaughtered: Larger commercial poultry slaughtering establishments. Wool Receivals, Purchases and Sales: All wool brokers and dealers registered with an Australian Business Number (ABN).	ABS and user funded	Number slaughtered and meat produced for livestock and poultry, and receivals of taxable wool by brokers and dealers. (Data on exports of live sheep and cattle and exports of fresh, chilled, frozen and processed meat are included in the quarterly publication Livestock Products, Australia and are sourced from ABS International Trade Statistics.)	1
	Agricultural Land and Water Ownership Survey (ALWOS)79	Irregular80	National, State/Territory	A sample survey of approximately 11,000 businesses registered on the ABSBR with an EVAO, or equivalent, of $5,000 or more. The target population for the survey is all businesses owning or operating agricultural land for agricultural purposes in Australia.	ABS	Foreign ownership of agricultural businesses, agricultural land and water entitlements used for agricultural purposes.	1
	Census of Population and Housing81	5 yearly	All ASGS82 down to SA1	All households and individuals who are in Australia on Census Night, excluding foreign diplomats and their families	ABS	Census data of relevance to agriculture, fisheries and forestry statistics, including: demographics of farmers and farm managers; of individuals employed in the agricultural workforce; and characteristics of households with one or more persons employed in agriculture.	2
	Labour force survey83	Quarterly	ASGS State and territory	All persons aged 15 years and over with some exceptions. Data are obtained from a sample of approximately 26,000 private dwellings and a sample of non-private dwellings (hotels, etc)84	ABS	Estimates of employment by industry and occupation, including Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Division A) and industry subdivisions (agriculture; aquaculture; forestry and logging; fishing, hunting and trapping).	1, 2
	International Merchandise Trade	Monthly Annual	Merchandise trade data can be cross-classified by Australian state of origin for exports and Australian state of final destination for imports, as a special data request	ABS merchandise trade statistics are compiled from information submitted by exporters and importers or their agents to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Adjustments for coverage, timing and valuation are made to international merchandise trade data to convert them to a balance of payments basis85.	ABS	Value of merchandise imports and exports by industry of product (monthly); Value of merchandise exports and number of goods exporters by industry of exporter by a range of other dimensions (annual).86	4
ABARES	Australian Agricultural and Grazing Industries Survey (AAGIS)	Annual	National, State and ABARES regions	Sample size approximately 1600 businesses. Minimum EVAO cut-off $40,000.	Department of Agriculture, GRDC, MLA	Broadacre farm business performance, livestock numbers, crop production, costs, fertiliser use, receipts, and farmer and spouse characteristics (demographics, education, off-farm income and hours worked).	1
	Australian Dairy Industry Survey (ADIS)	Annual	National, State and ABARES regions	Sample size approximately 300 businesses. Minimum EVAO cut-off $40,000.	Department of Agriculture, Dairy Australia (Until 2013-14)	Dairy farm business performance, milk production, costs, fertiliser use, receipts, and farmer and spouse characteristics (demographics, education, off-farm income and hours worked).	1
	Vegetable survey	Annual	National, State and ABARES regions	Sample size approximately 300 businesses. Minimum EVAO cut-off $40,000.	Department of Agriculture, HAL	Vegetable farm businesses (including lettuce, cucumber, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflowers, carrots, tomatoes, beans, peas, pumpkins and potatoes) performance, production, costs, fertiliser use, receipts, and farmer and spouse characteristics (demographics, education, off-farm income and hours worked).	1
	Irrigation survey	Annual	National, State and ABARES regions	Sample size about 300 businesses. Minimum EVAO cut-off $40,000.	Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment, MDBA, National Water Commission	Rice, cotton and horticulture farm business performance, production, costs, fertiliser use, receipts, and farmer and spouse characteristics (demographics, education, off-farm income and hours worked).	1, 3
	Supplementary topics or additional surveys	As requested	National, State and ABARES regions	Subject to client requirements	Varies	Includes topics such as land management practices, cost of production, new dairy technology, and on-farm occupational health and safety. Or additional surveys of the sugar, wine grapes or honey bee industries.	1, 3
Meat and Livestock Australia	Livestock Market Surveys	Weekly	National	Sheep and cattle market data collected from key auction and direct market enterprises	Meat and Livestock Australia	Enterprise level data used to compile over the hooks, wholesale, feeder cattle, skin, hide and slaughter reports.	1
Grains Research and Development Corporation	Grower Surveys	Biennial	National	Sample of 1 200 grain growers representing 17 agro-ecological zones87 in Australia (last conducted from May to June in 2014).	GRDC	Farm characteristics, grain production levels, crops grown, on- and off-farm income, grower sentiment, and adoption of new grain varieties, farming practices and technologies. Corporate measures include grower satisfaction with GRDC’s performance, attitudes towards paying the grains levy and the extent to which GRDC specific activities have influenced on-farm practice change.	1, 3
Dairy Australia	National Dairy Farmer Surveys	Annual	8 major dairy farming regions in Australia	Sample of 1 000 dairy farms (conducted in March)	Dairy Australia	Dairy farmer confidence, sentiment and expectations about industry future, including anticipated profit, estimated production growth and intentions to invest.	1
	Dairy Farm Monitor	Annual	Victorian and NSW dairying regions	Sample of 75 Victorian and 30 NSW dairy farm businesses (conducted June to August)	Dairy Australia, Vic DEPI and NSW DPI	Farm level data on profitability and productivity, including income, assets, equity, inputs (incl. labour, fertiliser, feed, water), costs and liabilities, milk production, as well as dairy farmer confidence.	1
	Animal Husbandry Surveys	Biennial	8 major dairy farming regions in Australia	Random sample of 400 dairy farmers (conducted September to October)	Dairy Australia	Farm level data on on-farm livestock management practices and animal welfare, including disbudding, tail docking, calving, bobby calf transport and management, and disease risk management and staff training.	3, 5

Note: The enduring goals referred to in column 8 are: 1 – competitive and profitable agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries; 2 – prosperous communities; 3 – sustainable natural resource use; 4 – growing trade and market access; 5 – protecting animal, plant and human health and welfare. This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the surveys that RDCs or industry associations are conducting, but gives examples based on publicly available information and information obtained during NASR consultations. Full definition of Statistical Areas are provided in Glossary.

Table 6 - Primary data collections—fisheries

Fisheries	Collection	Frequency	Geography	Scope	Funding	Output themes	Informs enduring goals
ABS	Census of Population and Housing88	5 yearly	All ASGS classifications down to SA1	All households and individuals who are in Australia on Census Night, excluding foreign diplomats and their families	ABS	Census data of relevance to fisheries statistics includes: demographics of individuals employed in commercial fisheries or aquaculture industries 89; and characteristics of households with one or more persons employed in commercial fisheries or aquaculture industries.	2
	Labour force survey90	Quarterly	ASGS State and territory	All persons aged 15 years and over with some exceptions. Data are obtained from a sample of approximately 26,000 private dwellings and a sample of non-private dwellings (hotels, etc)91	ABS	Estimates of employment by industry and occupation, including Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Division A) and industry subdivisions (agriculture; aquaculture; forestry and logging; fishing, hunting and trapping).	1, 2
	International Merchandise Trade	Monthly Annual	Merchandise trade data can be cross-classified by state of origin for exports and state of final destination for imports, as a special data request	ABS merchandise trade statistics are compiled from information submitted by exporters and importers or their agents to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Adjustments for coverage, timing and valuation are made to international merchandise trade data to convert them to a balance of payments basis92	ABS	Value of merchandise imports and exports by industry of product (monthly); Value of merchandise exports and number of goods exporters by industry of exporter by a range of other dimensions (annual)93.	4
ABARES	Fisheries survey - Commonwealth fisheries	Major fisheries biennially	Australia	Commonwealth fisheries	Department of Agriculture	Financial and economic performance. Key data collected in the surveys include boat level information on fishing receipts and business input costs, and business asset values. Economic performance for the fishery as a whole is derived from this boat level information.	1
	Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics	Annual	Australia	State and Commonwealth fisheries	FRDC	Volume and value of fisheries production and trade. Production statistics are broken down to a species level across the wild capture and aquaculture sectors for each jurisdiction. Trade data are provided across species at a national and jurisdictional level.	1, 3
	Fishery Status Reports	Annual	Australia	Commonwealth fisheries	Department of Agriculture	Status of key commercial species, economic performance of fisheries, environmental interactions, natural resource management practises.	1, 3
	Status of key Australian fish stocks reports	Biennial	Australia	State and Commonwealth fisheries	FRDC, Department of Agriculture, State/Territory fisheries agencies	Status of key commercial species, natural resource management practises.	1, 3
	Supplementary topics or additional surveys	As requested	National, State, regional and fishery specific	Subject to client requirements	Varies	Includes topics such as responses to management changes, social and economic evaluation of game-fishing, productivity, responses to management changes, industry training needs.	1, 2, 3
States/ Territories	State/Territories catch and effort log book	Ongoing	States/ Territories	State/ Territory fisheries	States/ Territory fisheries agencies	Production volumes and value, status of key species, natural resource management practises.	1, 3
AFMA	Commonwealth catch and effort log book	Ongoing	Australia	Commonwealth fisheries	AFMA	Catch, effort, gear type and location of fishing operation.	1, 3
	Commonwealth catch disposal records	Ongoing	Australia	Commonwealth fisheries	AFMA	Catch disposal location, fishing method, port unloaded, fish receiver.	1, 3

Note: The enduring goals referred to in column 8 are: 1 – competitive and profitable agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries; 2 – prosperous communities; 3 – sustainable natural resource use; 4 – growing trade and market access; 5 – protecting animal, plant and human health and welfare.


Table 7 - Primary data collections—forestry

Forestry	Collection	Frequency	Geography	Scope	Funding	Output themes	Informs enduring goals
ABS	Census of Population and Housing94	5 yearly	All ASGS classifications down to SA1	All households and individuals who are in Australia on Census Night, excluding foreign diplomats and their families	ABS	Census data of relevance to forestry statistics: demographics of individuals employed in the forestry and logging95 industries; characteristics of households with one or more persons employed in the forestry and logging industries.	2
	Labour force survey96	Quarterly	ASGS State and territory	All persons aged 15 years and over with some exceptions. Data is obtained from a sample of approximately 26,000 private dwellings and a sample of non-private dwellings (hotels, etc)97	ABS	Estimates of employment by industry and occupation, including Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Division A) and industry subdivisions (agriculture; aquaculture; forestry and logging; fishing, hunting and trapping).	1, 2
	International Merchandise Trade	Monthly Annual	Merchandise trade data can be cross-classified by state of origin for exports and state of final destination for imports, as a special data request	ABS merchandise trade statistics are compiled from information submitted by exporters and importers or their agents to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Adjustments for coverage, timing and valuation are made to international merchandise trade data to convert them to a balance of payments basis.98	ABS	Value of merchandise imports and exports by industry of product (monthly); Value of merchandise exports and number of goods exporters by industry of exporter by a range of other dimensions (annual).99	4
ABARES	Gross value of production survey	Annual	Australia	Participating timber companies and agencies	ABARES	National log harvest volume and gross value of production.	1
	Pulp and paper survey	Annual	Australia	Participating pulp and paper companies	ABARES	Annual production of pulp and paper.	1
	Australian forest and wood products statistics	Biannual	Australia	N/A	ABARES, FWPA and Department of Agriculture	Time series data on forest and wood products resources, consumption, trade and employment.	1, 3
	National Forest Inventory	5-yearly	Australia	National Forest Inventory is a partnership between the Commonwealth and all states and territory governments for the collection and dissemination of forest data. Scope is all forest (native and plantation) in all states and territories	ABARES, Department of Agriculture	Reported against the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators for sustainable forest management, in the 5-yearly Australia’s State of the Forest Report series.	3
FWPA	Softwood Timber Survey	Monthly	Australia	Participating timber companies	FWPA	Sales volumes for Australian plantation softwood products.	1
URS Forestry Group	Timber Market Survey	Quarterly	Eastern Australia	Participating timber companies	Forestry Corporation of NSW, VicForests, Hancock Victoria Plantations, HQ Plantations, Forestry SA, DAFF Queensland Government, and Green Triangle Forest Products	Timber price movements in Australia for softwood timber, panel and engineered wood products.	1
States/ territories	State/territory forest agency data collections	Varies – depends on state/territory	All states and territories	Forests and plantations	States and Territories	Forest extent, type, condition, tenure and production data.	1, 3

Note: The enduring goals referred to in column 8 are: 1 – competitive and profitable agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries; 2 – prosperous communities; 3 – sustainable natural resource use; 4 – growing trade and market access; 5 – protecting animal, plant and human health and welfare.

FOOTNOTES

⁷¹ Outputs from the Agricultural Census are published in Principal Agricultural Commodities, Australia, Preliminary, ABS. Cat. No. 7111.0; Agricultural Commodities, Australia (final data), ABS. Cat. No. 7121.0; Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 7503.0. Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production, ABS. Cat. No. 4610.0.55.008, Water Use on Australian Farms, ABS. Cat. No. 4618.0.
⁷² REACS was instituted annually from 2012-13 and replaced the previous biennial Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and Agricultural Survey (ACS) which were conducted in alternate years between the five-yearly Agricultural Census. Outputs from REACS are published in the same publications as listed above for the Agricultural Census, and an additional publication: Land Management and Farming in Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 4627.0.
⁷³ For more information on VACP refer to Value of Agricultural Commodities Produced, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 7503.0.
⁷⁴ For more information on GVIAP and how it is calculated, refer to Gross Value of Irrigated Agricultural Production, ABS. Cat. No. 4610.0.55.008.
⁷⁵ Gross value is the value placed on recorded production at the wholesale prices realised in the market place. Local value is the value of agricultural commodities at the point of production.
⁷⁶ Data from the LAMPS are published in Agricultural Resource Management Practices, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. in 4630.0
⁷⁷ Note: full definition of Australian Agricultural Environments are provided in Appendix 4 – Glossary
⁷⁸ Data from the livestock collections are published in: Livestock Products, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 7215.0 (quarterly), and Livestock and Meat, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 7218.0.55.001 (monthly)
⁷⁹ Data from the ALWOS are published in Agricultural Land and Water Ownership, ABS. Cat. No. 7127.0
⁸⁰ The first ALWOS was conducted in December 2010. Following the release of this survey, the ABS was funded to undertake further collection of data on foreign ownership of agricultural businesses, land and water assets via standalone ALWOS surveys in 2013 and 2018, and via additional information to be collected from the 2015-16 and 2020-21 Agricultural Censuses.
⁸¹ More information on the ABS Census of Population and Housing including data, can be found on the ABS Census homepage.
⁸² ASGS – Australian Statistical Geography Standard – is defined in the Glossary.
⁸³ The Labour Force survey is conducted monthly, however data on industry and occupation of employment is only collected quarterly. This data is published in Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, ABS. Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003
⁸⁴ For more information on the methodology used in the ABS Labour Force Survey, refer to Labour Force, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 6202.0 – Explanatory Notes.
⁸⁵ More information on the methodology behind ABS international trade statistics can be found in: International Merchandise Trade, Australia, Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2001, ABS. Cat. No. 5489.0
⁸⁶ In general International Trade statistics do not have an industry dimension; however a concordance is available between the Trade in Goods Classification (HS) and the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) which assigns different commodities to the industry most likely to have produced that product. Data is published using this concordance in International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 5368.0, Tables 32a and 35a. The publication Characteristics of Australian Exporters (annual) uses the ANZSIC of the ABN of the exporter (as recorded on the ABS Business Register) to publish data by industry. See Characteristics of Australian Exporters, ABS. Cat. No. 5368.0.55.006 Tables 2 - 5 and 7 – 9. (There is no data currently available on international trade in services by industry, only goods.)
⁸⁷ http://www.grdc.com.au/About-Us/GRDC-Agroecological-Zones
⁸⁸ More information on the ABS Census of Population and Housing including data, can be found on the ABS Website.
⁸⁹ Including downstream industries such as seafood wholesaling and processing.
⁹⁰ The Labour Force survey is conducted monthly, however data on industry and occupation of employment is only collected quarterly. This data is published in Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, ABS. Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003
⁹¹ For more information on the methodology used in the ABS Labour Force Survey, refer to Labour Force, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 6202.0 – Explanatory Notes.
⁹² More information on the methodology behind ABS international trade statistics can be found in: International Merchandise Trade, Australia, Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2001, ABS. Cat. No. 5489.0
⁹³ n general International Trade statistics do not have an industry dimension; however a concordance is available between the Trade in Goods Classification (HS) and the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) which assigns different commodities to the industry most likely to have produced that product. Data is published using this concordance in International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 5368.0, Tables 32a and 35a. The publication Characteristics of Australian Exporters (annual) uses the ANZSIC of the ABN of the exporter (as recorded on the ABS Business Register) to publish data by industry. See Characteristics of Australian Exporters, ABS. Cat. No. 5368.0.55.006 Tables 2 - 5 and 7 – 9. (There is no data currently available on international trade in services by industry, only goods.)
⁹⁴ More information on the ABS Census of Population and Housing, including data, can be found on the ABS Website.
⁹⁵ Including downstream industries such as timber, paper product and pulp processing and manufacturing.
⁹⁶ The Labour Force survey is conducted monthly, however data on industry and occupation of employment is only collected quarterly. This data is published in Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, ABS. Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003
⁹⁷For more information on the methodology used in the ABS Labour Force Survey, refer to Labour Force, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 6202.0 – Explanatory Notes.
⁹⁸ More information on the methodology behind ABS international trade statistics can be found in: International Merchandise Trade, Australia, Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2001, ABS. Cat. No. 5489.0
⁹⁹ In general International Trade statistics do not have an industry dimension; however a concordance is available between the Trade in Goods Classification (HS) and the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) which assigns different commodities to the industry most likely to have produced that product. Data is published using this concordance in International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, ABS. Cat. No. 5368.0, Tables 32a and 35a. The publication Characteristics of Australian Exporters (annual) uses the ANZSIC of the ABN of the exporter (as recorded on the ABS Business Register) to publish data by industry. See Characteristics of Australian Exporters, ABS. Cat. No. 5368.0.55.006 Tables 2 - 5 and 7 – 9. (There is no data currently available on international trade in services by industry, only goods.)