same acres, report the acreage only once. If chemicals were 
applied for different purposes, report the acres for each purpose 
that the chemicals were used. Report agricultural chemical 
expenditures in Section 24, Item 2. Estimate die acreage for spot 
treatments. 
- Organic Agriculture 
is for production under the National Organic 
Program standards. Farms that are USDA certified organic, or 
exempt from certification because they sell less than $5,000 in 
organic products a year, should report in this section. Farms in 
the three year transition period should report in Items land 2. 
Item 3 - Total sales of organic products include all sales of die 
products, regardless of whether an organic premium was 
obtained. Sales of products from transitioning land or livestock 
should not be included in Item 3. Include gross value of 
agricultural production before expenses or taxes. Exclude the 
value of processed or value added items. 
[Section 26 1 
This section 
[Section 27 1 - Market Value of Land, Buildings, 
Machinery, and Equipment 
Item 1 - Estimate the value of the land, houses, bams, and other 
buildings for each of the three listed categories if they were sold 
in the current market. The real estate tax assessment value 
should not be used unless that value represents a full market 
value assessment and the land, house, and buildings could 
reasonably be assumed to be sold at that price. Do not deduct 
real estate marketing charges from your estimate. Report the 
total value, not the value on a per acre basis. 
Item 2 - The estimated market value refers to all machinery and 
equipment kept primarily on this operation and used for the 
farm business. Report the value in its present condition, not the 
replacement or depreciated value. Include mobile implements, 
hand tools, and office supplies. Permanently installed equipment 
or equipment that is an integral part of a building should be 
included as a part of the value of land and buildings and 
reported in Item 1. 
Section 28 [ - Machinery and Equipment 
Report the total on this operation, or normally on this operation 
and normally used on this operation, in the first column. Do not 
report obsolete or abandoned equipment. In the second column, 
report only the number manufactured in the last fiveyears. 
Section 29 - Energy 
Item 3 - Include any wind rights leased to others on land owned 
by this operation. 
Section 30 - Land Use Practices 
Items lb - Land drained by ditches refers only to manmade 
ditches installed to improve drainage, not natural waterways. 
Item 1c - A conservation easement limits the right to develop 
the land, now and in the future. 
Items Id through g - Include all cropland acres planted in the 
operation with the practice, not just cropland harvested. 
Conservation tillage leaves 30 percent or more of the soil 
surface covered by crop residue after planting. Conventional 
tillage has 1 00 percent of the soil surface mixed or inverted. 
[Section 31 - Practices 
Item lb - Rotational grazing is the practice of subdividing 
pasture into smaller sections and grazing different sections at 
different times. 
Section 32 - Direct Sales For Human Consumption 
Include only those commodities sold directly for human 
consumption, such as vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk, cattle, 
chickens, hogs, turkeys, etc. Report only commodities grown or 
raised on this operation. Exclude crops, livestock, poultry', or 
other products that you bought and resold within 30 days. 
Exclude craft items such as birdhouses, woodwork, etc. 
Section 331- Operator Characteristics 
This section collects information about the operator(s) of this 
operation. A farm may be a family operation and still have 
multiple operators. Complete one column for each operator, 
listing the principal operator or senior partner in the first 
column. The principal operator is the p ere on in charge, such as a 
hired manager, business manager, or other person primarily 
responsible for the on-site, day-to-day operation of the farm or 
ranch business. 
Item 1 - Enter the total number of people who made day-to-day 
decisions for this operation, and the number of women 
operators. Do not report as operators rninor-aged children who 
only worked on the farm. 
Item 2 - Answer each question for up to three operators. If there 
were more than three, answer for three operators only. 
Item 2d - The principal occupation of the operator(s) is the 
occupation at. which an operator spent the majority of his/her 
worktime. If the operator spent the majority working for 
another agricultural operation for wages, it is considered hours 
devoted to “Other.” 
Item 2h - Report the first year the specified operator began to 
operate any part of this operation on a continuous basis. If the 
operator returned to a place previously operated, report the year 
operations were resumed. 
Item 2i - Report the first year the specified operator began to 
operate part of ANY operation on a continuous basis. 
Item 3 - The number of households that share in the net fann 
income are those households involved with the day-to-day 
decisions and not those households that received funds because 
they are landlords, custom equipment operators, or provide 
other supplies that are listed in Section 24, Production 
Expenses. Your answer should not exceed the number of 
operators listed in Item 1. 
Item 4 - If net income from the farm or ranch operation was 
negative in 2012, report zero as the percent of income from the 
operation. 
Item 5 - Include internet access on the operation, or on 
equipment owned by the operation. Do not include access from 
a computer at a public site such as a library'. 
Section 34 1 - Type of Organization 
Use the following definitions to determine the type of 
organization for this operation. 
,1k operation organized as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) 
may fall into any of the categories. 
Family or individual operation - Fanil or business organization 
controlled and operated by a family or an individual (sole 
proprietor). Include family operations that are not incoiporated 
and not operated under a partnership agreement. Report family 
corporations under “Incorporated under state law.” 
Partnership operation - Two or more persons who conduct an 
operation together and share w'ork and profits. Co-ownership of 
land by husband and wife or joint filing of income tax forms by 
husband and wife does not constitute a partnership unless a 
specific agreement to share contributions, decision making, 
profits, and liabilities exists. Production under contract or under 
a share rental agreement does not constitute a partnership. 
Incorporated wider state law A corporation is a legal entity or 
artificial person created under the laws of a State to carry' on a 
business, including family corporations. Exclude cooperatives, 
even if they are incorporated. 
Other - Estate or trust, grazing association, American Indian 
Reservation, university' farm, prison farm, institution run by a 
government or religious entity, cooperatives (an incorporated or 
unincorporated enterprise or an association created and formed 
jointly by the members), etc. 
Section 35 - Conclusion 
Item 1 - If your operation might be identified under a different 
name than printed on the front of the form (for example, a farm 
name or another partner), please provide these names. 
Item 2a - All farms and ranches should receive their own forms 
to complete. If you operated another farm or ranch, indicate 
whether you received a form for that operation. 
B - 52 APPENDIX B 
2012 Census of Agriculture 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
