1978 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE 



PRELIMINARY REPORT 



MASSACHUSETTS 



AC78-P-25-000 



Issued May 1980 



The preliminary reports are being published on a flow basis for all counties in 

 the United States with 10 farms or more and for each State, geographic region, 

 and the United States. This series is intended to provide, at the earliest date, 

 information on major data items These items are standard for each State and 

 county except in Table 3, Crops Harvested, where the items will vary by Stale 

 according to their relative importance in the State in 1978. The 1978 data are 

 subject to revision. Final data will be published in Volume 1, State and County 

 Data. 



Inventories of livestock and poultry and other specified items are as of 

 December 31 of the census year. Crop and livestock production and sales data 

 are for calendar year 1978, except for a few crops (such as citrus) for which the 

 production year overlaps the calendar year. The volume 1 appendix will provide a 

 more detailed description of how the census was taken along with pertinent 

 definitions and explanations. 



The 1978 census data collection program was the first to include an area 

 segment sample to provide reliable estimates, for States, of the number and the 

 characteristics of any farms not represented in the mail portion of the census 

 Estimates for such farms are an integral part of the totals shown in the State 

 reports, but are not included in county totals, thus State totals for 1978 and 1974 

 are not directly comparable. The contribution of the area segment sample to Stale 

 totals is shown on pages 5 through 8. 



In keeping with prior practice, the dollar figures shown in this report have not 

 been adjusted for changes in price levels between census years. 



Definition of farm— In accordance with a joint agreement between the US 

 Department of Agriculture, the Office of l^flanagement and Budget, and the Bureau 

 of the Census, announced on August 12, 1975, a farm, for statistical purposes, is 

 any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were sold, or 

 normally would have been sold, dunng the census year. The previous definition 

 (used for the 1959, 1964, 1969 censuses, and for the 1974 preliminary county 

 reports) counted as a farm any place with less than 10 acres from which $250 or 

 more of agncultural products were sold or normally would have been sold dunng 

 the census year, or any place of 10 acres or more from which $50 or more of 

 agncultural products were sold or normally would have been sold during the 

 census year 



The effect of the change in definition on 1978 and 1974 data is shown for 

 selected items in the appendix on page 4. 



Sampling — Data collected from only a sample of farms are subject to sampling 

 error. The appendix in volume 1 will contain a detailed discussion. 



Special tribute is paid to the millions of farm and ranch operators and other 

 agnculture-associated people who furnished the individual reports from which 

 these statistical summanes were compiled Also acknowledged with gratitude is 

 the contributory effort of US Department of Agriculture and other county-level 

 government and private officials who offered their support and willingly assisted 

 individuals requesting help in completing their 1978 census reports. 



The following symbols are used throughout the tables; 

 - Zero (D) Data withheld to avoid disclosing information for individual farms. 

 (X) Not applicable (Z) Less than half of the unit reported. (NA) Not available. 



Table 1. Selected Summary Items: 1978 and 1974 



Farms and land in farms: 



Farms number.. 



Land in farms acres.. 



Average size of farm acres.. 



Value of land and buildings: ' 



Average per farm dollars.. 



Average per acre dollars.. 



Farms by size: 



Less than 10 acres number. 



10 to 49 acres number.. 



50 to 1 79 acres number . 



180 to 499 acres number.. 



500 to 999 acres number.. 



1,000 to 1,999 acres number.. 



2,000 acres or more number,. 



Land according to use: 



Total cropland farms.. 



acres.. 



Harvested cropland farms.. 



acres.. 



Cropland used only for pasture farms.. 



acres.. 



Other cropland farms.. 



acres.. 



Woodland including woodland pastured farms.. 



acres.. 



Other pastureland and rangeland farms.. 



acres. 

 Land in house lots, ponds, roads, wasteland, etc ...farms 



acres. 



Irrigated land farms.. 



acres 

 See footnotes at end of table 



U.S. Department of Commerce 

 Bureau of the Census 



For sale by Subscribers Services Section {Publications). Bureau ol the Census, 

 Washington, D C 20233, or any Department oi Commerce district oHice 

 Price 25 cents per copy 



