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 1978 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 1 978 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 



1978 

 adjusted^ 



Data publist^ed in 

 1 978 Census of Agnculture 



1978 

 totals 



Portion of 



total from 1 978 



area sample^ 



Percent of 



1978 total 



represented 



by area sample 



portion 



Farms number. 



Land in farms _ acres. 



Value of land and buildings*, 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 agncultural products sold SI, 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 10 $99,999 __ __ 



$100,000 to $249,999= _ 



$250,000 10 $499,999= 



$500,000 or more _. 



Abnormal farms 



See footnotes at end of table. 



16 183 



2 557 728 



332 301 



14 719 

 1 799 220 



13 672 



1 528 994 



845 



38 556 



2 015 



4 822 



1 299 



1 454 



1 508 



1 002 



806 



581 



1 591 



789 



252 



64 



1 029 244 

 339 430 

 689 815 



3 891 



2 123 



2 044 



1 846 



1 532 



1 965 



1 795 



730 



239 



18 



15 540 



2 614 439 



298 920 



14 384 

 1 809 726 



13 663 



1 477 316 



616 



28 467 



1 747 

 3 947 

 1 299 

 1 461 

 1 575 

 1 095 

 896 

 656 



1 794 

 781 

 230 



59 



784 559 

 267 125 

 517 434 



3 137 



2 143 

 2 247 

 1 924 



1 631 



2 264 

 1 572 



475 



134 



13 



18 727 



2 713 578 



269 193 



17 306 

 1 872 318 



16 189 



1 512 163 



751 



28 725 



2 815 

 5 514 

 1 415 

 1 668 

 1 729 

 1 128 

 912 

 665 



1 811 

 781 

 230 



59 



806 014 

 274 935 

 531 078 



5 039 



2 703 

 2 546 

 2 161 



1 703 



2 364 

 1 572 



492 



134 



13 



3 187 



99 139 



124 252 



2 922 



62 592 



2 526 



34 847 



135 



258 



1 068 



1 567 



116 



207 



154 



33 



16 



9 



17 



21 455 

 7 811 

 13 644 



1 902 



560 



299 



237 



72 



too 



17 



17.0 

 3,7 



m 



16,9 

 3.3 



15,6 

 2.3 



18.0 

 .9 



37,9 



28,4 



8.2 



12.4 



8.9 



2.9 



1.8 



1.4 



.9 



2.7 

 2.8 

 2.6 



37.7 

 20.7 

 11.7 

 11.0 

 4.2 

 4.2 



3.5 



1982 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE 



APPENDIX B B-1 



