INTRODUCTION 



Page 



HISTORY V 



USES OF THE CENSUS V 



AUTHORITY AND AREA COVERED V 



FARM DEFINITION V 



COMPARABILITY OF DATA V 



TABULAR PRESENTATION V 



PRELIMINARY REPORTS VI 



MICROFICHE AND COMPUTER TAPES VI 



UNPUBLISHED DATA VI 



CENSUS DISCLOSURE RULES VI 



DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATIONS VI 



"SEE TEXT" REFERENCE VI 



INVENTORIES, PRODUCTION, AND SALES DATA VI 



ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS VI 



HISTORY 



The census of agriculture provides a periodic statistical pic- 

 ture of the Nation's farming, ranching, and related activities. 

 The 1982 Census of Agriculture is the 22d taken by the 

 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 



The first agriculture census was taken in 1840 as part of the 

 sixth decennial census of population. From 1840 to 1950, an 

 agriculture census was taken as part of the decennial census. A 

 separate mid-decade census of agriculture was conducted in 

 1925, 1935, and 1945. From 1954 to 1974, a census of agri- 

 culture was taken for the years ending in 4 and 9. 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 manufacturing, 

 mining, construction, retail trade, wholesale trade, service in- 

 dustries, 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 



The census of agriculture is the leading source of statistics 

 about the Nation's agriculture and the only source of con- 

 sistent, comparable data about agriculture at the county. State, 

 and national levels. Census statistics are used by Congress in 

 developing and changing farm programs and for determining the 

 effects of these programs. Many national and State programs 

 affecting agriculture are designed or allocated on the basis of 

 census data, such as funds for extension services, research, and 

 soil conservation projects. Private industry uses census statis- 

 tics to provide a more effective production and distribution 

 system for the farm community. 



AUTHORITY AND AREA COVERED 



The census of agriculture is required by law under title 13, 

 United States Code, sections 142(a) and 191, which directs that 

 the census be taken in 1979, in 1983, and in every fifth year 

 after 1983 covering the prior year. The 1982 census includes 

 each State, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the 

 United States. 



FARM DEFINITION 



Since 1850, when minimum criteria defining a farm for 

 census purposes were first established, the farm definition has 

 been changed nine times. The current definition, first used for 

 the 1974 final reports, is any place from which $1,000 or more 

 of agricultural products were sold or normally would have been 

 sold during the census year. The previous definition (used for 

 the 1959, 1964, and 1969 censuses, and for the 1974 pre- 

 liminary reports) was any place with less than 10 acres from 

 which $250 or more of agricultural products were sold or 

 normally would have been sold during the census year, or 

 any place of 10 acres or more from which 350 or more of agri- 

 cultural products were sold or normally would have been 

 sold during the census year. 



COMPARABILITY OF DATA 



All censuses since 1969 were conducted primarily by mail. 

 To improve the coverage of the 1978 census, especially in 

 counting the number of small farms, the mailout/mailback 

 enumeration was supplemented by the direct enumeration 

 of all households in approximately 6,400 sample segments in 

 rural areas in all States, except Alaska and Hawaii. Due to 

 budget reductions, the direct enumeration area sample was 

 eliminated for 1982. 



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

 Census of Agriculture publications included data for farms re- 

 presented on the mail list plus estimates from the area sample 

 for farms not on the mail list. The 1978 county data included 

 only farms represented on the mail list as the sample was not 

 large enough to provide reliable estimates for each county. 



To provide comparable data for 1982 and 1978, estimates 

 from the 1978 area sample have been subtracted from the 1978 

 data. Thus, the 1978 data in this report include only farms re- 

 presented on the mail list. Appendix B includes a detailed dis- 

 cussion of the effect of the area sample on census compa- 

 rability. 



In general, data for 1982, 1978, and 1974 are not fully com- 

 parable with data for 1969 and earlier censuses due to changes 

 in the farm definition. Data on acreages and inventories for 

 1982 and 1978 are generally comparable. Dollar figures shown 

 for expenses and agricultural product sales have not been 

 adjusted for changes in price levels between census years. 



TABULAR PRESENTATION 



State data-in chapter 1, State tables 1 through 43 show de- 

 tailed State level data usually accompanied by historical data 

 for one or more past censuses. Tables 44 through 50 provide 

 1982 State data cross-tabulated by various farm classifications. 



County data— Selected data items are presented by county in 

 chapter 2. Tables 1 through 16 include general data for all 

 counties. The counties are listed in alphabetical order in the 



1982 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE 



INTRODUCTION V 



