INTRODUCTION 



Page 



HISTORY IV 



USES OF THE CENSUS IV 



AUTHORITY AND AREA COVERED IV 



FARM DEFINITION IV 



COMPARABILITY OF DATA IV 



TABULAR PRESENTATION IV 



CENSUS DISCLOSURE RULES V 



DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS V 



DOLLAR VALUES V 



INVENTORIES, PRODUCTION, AND SALES DATA V 



ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS V 



AUTHORITY AND AREA COVERED 



The 1982 Census of Agriculture was taken in accordance 

 with the provisions of title 13, United States Code. Sections 

 142(a) and 191 provide for a census of agriculture every 5 years 

 in each State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and 

 the Virgin Islands of the United States. The census data for the 

 Virgin Islands may be collected by the Governor or a representa- 

 tive from his/her staff to act as census supervisor, in accordance 

 with a Memorandum of Agreement prescribed or approved by 

 the Director of the Bureau of the Census. 



HISTORY 



The 1982 census is the 10th census of agriculture of the 

 Virgin Islands. The first, taken in 1917, was a special census 

 authorized by the Secretary of Commerce. The next agriculture 

 census was taken in 1930 in conjunction with the decennial 

 census, a practice that continued every 10 years through 1960. 

 The 1964 Census of Agriculture was the first quinquennial IB- 

 year) census to be taken in the Virgin Islands. For the quin- 

 quennial census of 1969, the data were collected in 1970 in con- 

 junction with the 1970 Censuses of Population and Housing. 

 The 1974 census was taken independently of any other censuses. 

 In 1976, Congress authorized the census of agriculture to be 

 taken for 1978 and 1982 to adjust the data reference year to 

 coincide with the 1982 Economic Censuses covering manufactu- 

 ring, mining, construction, retail trade, wholesale trade, service 

 industries, and selected transportation activities. After 1982, the 

 agriculture census will revert to a 5-year cycle and be taken 

 covering years ending in "2" and '7." 



USES OF THE CENSUS 



This information is needed by the farmers of the Virgin 

 Islands, by their representatives, by the Government, and by 

 many other groups of people who are concerned with food and 

 agricultural production in the Virgin Islands. 



The census will provide a comprehensive inventory of farms 

 and their production. A great many uses are made of this basic 

 census information. 



For example: 



a. Agricultural programs can be evaluated and new programs 

 started on the basis of farm statistics. 



b. Monies allocated by the Federal Government are based in 

 part on census data. 



c. Businesses can determine where and how much of their 

 products they can sell, and measure other features of their 

 markets. 



d. Farmers can compare their current size and performance 

 with the size and performance of other farms in the same 

 geographic area to determine how well they are doing. 



Census figures are fundamental to making sound economic 

 decisions and help increase the competition that provides better 

 prices for goods and services to the farmer. 



FARM DEFINITION 



The statistics presented in this report relate to places quali- 

 fying as farms for census purposes. For the 1982 Census of Agri- 

 culture in the Virgin Islands, a farm was defined as a "place" of 

 3 acres or more on which any field or forage crops were har- 

 vested or vegetables were harvested for sale during the 12-month 

 period between July 1, 1982, and June 30, 1983, or on which 

 there was a combined total of 10 or more fruit or nut trees or 

 plants, any livestock, or 10 or more poultry at the time of enu- 

 meration. Places of less than 3 acres were counted as farms if 

 their sales of agricultural products between July 1, 1982, and 

 June 30, 1983, amounted to at least $100, or if they could 

 normally be expected to produce agricultural products in 

 sufficient quantity to provide sales amounting to at least 

 $100. Places meeting any of the above criteria were included in 

 the tabulations as farms. 



The definition of a farm for 1982 was the same as in all 

 previous censuses, except the one for 1950. For 1950, all 

 places, regardless of size, were counted as farms if the total 

 value of agricultural products in 1949, except home garden 

 products, whether for home use or for sales, amounted to 

 $100 or more. Enumerators filled out a report form for every 

 place that the operator considered a farm, every place of 3 

 acres or more whether or not it was considered a farm, and 

 every place of less than 3 acres whose agricultural production 

 in 1949 was valued at $100 or more. 



COMPARABILITY OF DATA 



Comparability of data from the 1982 Census of Agri- 

 culture in the Virgin Islands has been slightly affected by 

 improvements in the coverage of the operators list and 

 improved techniques of training enumerators. In general, 

 data from the 1982 census are comparable with those of 

 previous censuses. 



TABULAR PRESENTATION 



The detailed tables in this report give totals for each of the 

 three islands— St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas— and for the 

 Virgin Islands as a whole. Comparable information for pre- 

 ceding census years is given for many items for which informa- 

 tion is available. 



IV INTRODUCTION 



AGRICULTURE-GEOGRAPHIC AREA SERIES 



