Crop units of measure — The regional report forms 

 allowed the operator to report the quantity of field crops 

 harvested in a unit of measure commonly used in the 

 region. When the operator reported in a unit of measure 

 different than the unit of measure published, the quantity 

 harvested was converted to the published unit of measure. 



Grapes could be reported in dry weight or fresh weight; 

 plums and prunes in fresh weight, or prunes in dry weight; 

 and in Hawaii, coffee in pounds parchment or pounds 

 cherry, and macadamia nuts in pounds husked, unshelled 

 or pounds shelled. For other fruit and nut crops and citrus, 

 the operator was given a choice of units of measure of 

 pounds, tons, or boxes. The quantity harvested for these 

 crops is published in pounds. 



included inquiries on production expenses, commercial 

 fertilizer and lime, chemicals, machinery and equipment, 

 value of land and buildings, and income from farm-related 

 sources. Estimates of the reliability of county totals for 

 selected items are shown in table F of appendix C. 



Operators of Spanish origin— No imputation was made 

 for those not responding to the question on Spanish origin. 



Farms operated by Black and other races— This 

 category includes Blacks, American Indians, Asian and 

 Pacific Islanders, and all other racial groups other than 

 White. 



Write-in crops — To reduce the length of the report 

 form, only the major crops for the region were prelisted. 

 For other crops, the respondent was requested to look at 

 a list of crops in each section and write in the crop name 

 and its code. For crops that had no individual code listed 

 on the report form, the respondent was to write in the crop 

 name and code the crop into the appropriate "all other" 

 category for that section. Write-in crops coded as "all 

 other" were reviewed and assigned a specific code when 

 possible. Crops not assigned a specific code were left in 

 the appropriate "all other" category. 



In some cases, the reviewers were unable to determine 

 the specific crop reported by the respondent because of 

 incomplete or generalized crop names. To ensure proper 

 coding, most of these respondents were telephoned. 

 Reports for those not telephoned were changed on the 

 basis of other reports for the area. 



All other races— This category is primarily limited to 

 persons native to or of ancestry from Mexico, the Carib- 

 bean, and Central and South America. 



Total sales— This item represents the gross market 

 value of all agricultural products sold before taxes and 

 expenses in the census year including livestock, poultry, 

 and their products; and crops, including nursery crops and 

 hay. Respondents were asked to include landlords' and 

 contractors' shares. The value of commodities placed in 

 CCC loans are included as sold. In 1987, all farms includ- 

 ing abnormal farms were tabulated by size based on 

 reported sales. In 1982 and 1978, abnormal farms were 

 included in the total sales figure, but excluded from the 

 detailed size breakdowns. Abnormal farms include institu- 

 tional farms, experimental and research farms, and Indian 

 reservations. 



Misreported or miscoded crops— In a few instances, 

 tabulated data may be inaccurate because respondents 

 misunderstood or misinterpreted questions on the report 

 form. Data may have been reported on the wrong line or in 

 the wrong section, or the wrong crop code may have been 

 placed beside the name of a write-in crop. Some of these 

 errors as well as some keying errors may not have been 

 identified during processing and therefore, were not cor- 

 rected. Reports with significant acres of unusual crops for 

 the area were examined to minimize the possibility that 

 they were in error. 



"See text" References 



Items in the tables which carry the note "See text" are 

 explained or defined in this section. 



Data are based on a sample of farms— For 1987, 

 1982, and 1978, selected data were collected from only a 

 sample of farms. These data are subject to sampling error. 

 For 1 987, the six-page sample form was mailed to all large 

 and specialized farms (based on expected sales, acres, or 

 standard industhal classification), all farms in Alaska and 

 Hawaii, and approximately 17 percent of all other farms. 

 Sample sections 23 through 28 of the 1987 census forms 



Farms with sales of less than $1,000— This category 

 includes all farms with actual sales of less than $1 ,000, but 

 having the production potential for sales of $1,000 or 

 more. These farms normally could be expected to sell 

 $1,000 or more of agricultural products. 



Net cash return from agricultural sales for the farm 

 unit — This category is derived by subtracting total operat- 

 ing expenditures from the gross market value of agricul- 

 tural products sold. Depreciation and the change in inven- 

 tory values are excluded from expenditures. Production 

 expenditures may be understated on part owner and 

 tenant farms because property taxes paid by landlords are 

 excluded. Other landlord expenditures, such as insurance 

 or rent paid, which are not readily known to renters may 

 also be omitted or understated. Gross sales include sales 

 by the operator as well as the share of sales received by 

 partners, landlords, and contractors. Consequently, the 

 net cash return is that of the farm unit rather than the net 

 farm income of the operator. 



Other livestock and livestock products— This cate- 

 gory includes all livestock and livestock products not listed 

 separately. 



1987 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE 



APPENDIX A A-7 



