APPENDIX B. 

 Effect of the Area Sample on Census Comparability 



The 1982 and 1978 Censuses were conducted 

 primarily by mail. Despite every effort to assemble a 

 complete list, a small portion of the Nation's farms were 

 not included on the census mail list. To improve the 

 coverage of the 1 978 Census, especially in counting the 

 number of small farms, the mail-out/mail-back 

 enumeration was supplemented by the direct 

 enumeration of all households in a sample of areas in 

 all States, except Alaska and Hawaii. Due to budget 

 reductions, the direct enumeration sample was 

 eliminated in the 1982 Census. 



In late 1978, enumerators visited all households in 

 approximately 6,400 segments in rural areas (areas with 

 less than 2,500 population) and completed a census 

 form for each agricultural operation. These forms were 

 then matched to the census mail list. Data from those 

 cases which were not matched to the mail list were 

 used to estimate the number and characteristics of 

 farms not on the mail list at the State, regional, and 

 national levels. No county-level estimates were 

 developed because the area sample size was 

 insufficient for reliable estimates at that level. 



The U.S., region, and State data for 1978 shown in 

 the 1978 Census of Agriculture publications included 

 data for farms represented on the mail list plus 

 estimates from the area sample for farms not on the 

 mail list. To provide comparable data for 1982 and 

 1978, estimates from the area sample have been 

 subtracted from the 1978 data. Thus, all 1978 data 

 presented in the 1 982 Census of Agriculture publications 

 include data only for farms on the 1978 mail list. 



In 1978, the area sample farms accounted for 9 

 percent of all farms in the United States, but only 1 

 percent of the total value of agricultural products sold 

 and 1 percent of the land in farms. The area sample 

 farms represented 25 percent of all farms with sales of 

 less than $2,500. The contribution of the area sample 

 farms to the total farm count varied widely by State, 

 from a low of 2.0 percent in North Dakota to a high of 

 23.8 percent in New Hampshire. 



The following table shows the 1982 results and 

 adjusted 1978 data for farms on the mail list, as well as 

 1978 data which include estimates for farms not on the 

 mail list. 



Effect of 1978 Area Sample on Census Comparability: 1982 and 1978 



[For meaning of abbreviations and symbols, see introductory text] 



Data published in 

 1982 Census of Agriculture 



1982 



1978 

 adjusted' 



Data published in 

 1 978 Census of Agriculture 



1978 

 total 2 



Portion of 



total from 1978 



area sample 3 



Percent of 



1978 total 



represented 



by area sample 



portion 



Farms rumber. 



Land in farms acres. 



Value of land and buildings 4 , average per farm dollars. 



Total cropland _ farms. 



acres. 



Harvested cropland farms. 



acres. 



Irrigated land farms. 



acres. 



Farms by size: 



1 to 9 acres 



10 to 49 acres 



50 to 69 acres 



70 to 99 acres _ __ 



100 to 139 acres 



140 to 179 acres _ 



180 to 219 acres 



220 to 259 acres 



260 to 499 acres- ___ 



500 to 999 acres _ 



1.000 to 1,999 acres ___ _. 



2,000 acres or more 



Market value of agricultural products sold $1,000. 



Crops, including nursery and greenhouse products $1,000. 



Livestock, poultry, and their products $1,000. 



Farms by value of sales: 



Less than $2,500 __ __ 



$2,500 to $4.999 



$5,000 to $9,999 



$10,000 to $19,999 



$20,000 to $39,999 



$40,000 to $99.999 



$100,000 to$249,999 s _ 



$250,000 to $499.999 5 



$500,000 or more __ 



Abnormal farms 



See footnotes at end of table. 



3 338 

 655 465 

 364 843 



2 843 



521 104 



2 700 



499 986 



323 



44 168 



503 

 905 

 259 

 313 

 264 

 176 

 153 

 116 

 322 

 211 

 90 

 26 



370 562 

 110 276 

 260 286 



548 



304 

 306 

 373 

 345 

 440 

 601 

 303 

 118 



3 398 

 669 646 

 283 593 



2 929 



529 651 



2 806 



496 756 



255 



33 725 



486 

 806 

 269 

 319 

 292 

 209 

 176 

 134 

 375 

 227 

 83 

 22 



321 248 

 102 937 

 218 310 



368 

 336 

 379 

 394 

 399 

 582 

 679 

 184 

 74 

 3 



3 632 

 679 045 

 270 381 



3 114 



536 077 



2 944 



500 417 



255 



33 725 



584 

 892 

 281 

 324 

 301 

 213 

 192 

 134 

 379 

 227 

 83 

 22 



326 003 

 103 396 

 222 607 



444 

 358 

 425 

 411 

 424 

 621 

 688 

 184 

 74 

 3 



234 



9 399 



78 457 



185 

 6 426 



138 

 3 661 



756 

 459 

 297 



76 

 22 

 46 

 17 

 25 

 39 

 9 



6.4 

 1.4 

 (X) 



5.9 



1.2 



4.7 



.7 



16.8 

 9.6 

 4.3 

 1.5 

 3.0 

 1.9 

 8.3 



1.1 



1.5 



.4 

 1.9 



17.1 

 6.1 



10.8 

 4.1 

 5.9 

 6.3 

 1.3 



1982 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE 



APPENDIX B B-1 



