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 1 982 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 

 1 978 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 

 1962 Census of Agriculture 



1978 

 adjusted^ 



Data published in 

 1978 Census of Agriculture 



1978 

 tota|2 



Portion of 



total from 1978 



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 



160 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' _ 



$250,000 to $499.999= _ 



$500,000 or more 



Abnormal farms 



See footnotes at end of table 



6 315 

 574 441 

 206 616 



5 977 

 772 055 



5 563 



547 646 



120 



1 254 



272 

 754 

 301 

 420 

 634 

 571 

 544 

 461 

 1 630 

 634 



as 



9 



369 402 



20 054 



349 348 



1 661 



593 



444 



349 



483 



1 444 



1 154 



153 



26 



8 



5 852 



1 633 049 



181 939 



5 696 

 806 244 



5 494 



554 957 



94 



1 397 



179 

 466 

 232 

 325 

 589 

 533 

 557 

 510 

 1 668 

 678 

 106 

 9 



270 882 



16 720 



254 162 



1 350 



507 



409 



439 



710 



1 655 



665 



71 



11 



IS 



7 273 



1 752 940 



161 665 



7 095 

 661 662 



6 562 



560 792 



109 



1 595 



316 

 864 

 362 

 S81 

 897 

 658 

 579 

 525 



1 684 

 665 

 113 



9 



274 318 



17 475 



256 843 



2 423 

 742 

 455 

 476 

 725 



1 670 



685 



71 



11 



15 



1 421 



119 891 



79 300 



1 399 



55 418 



1 088 



25 835 



15 



198 



137 



398 



130 



256 



308 



12S 



22 



15 



16 



7 



7 



3 437 



756 



2 681 



1 073 

 235 

 46 

 37 

 15 

 IS 



19.5 

 6.8 

 (X) 



19.7 

 6.4 



16.5 

 4.4 



13.8 



12.4 



43.4 



46.1 



35.9 



44.1 



34.3 



19.0 



3.8 



2.9 



1.0 



1.0 



6.2 



1.3 

 4.3 

 1.0 



44.3 



31.7 



10.1 



7.8 



2.1 



.9 



1982 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE 



APPENDIX B B-1 



