• Provide agricultural news media and agricultural 
associations’ benchmark statistics for stories and 
articles on U.S. agriculture and the foods we 
produce; 
• Compare the income and costs of production; 
• Provide important data about the demographics 
and financial well being of producers; 
• Evaluate historical agricultural trends to formulate 
farm and rural policies and develop programs that 
help agricultural producers; 
• Allocate local and national funds for farm 
programs, e.g. extension service projects, 
agricultural research, soil conservation programs, 
and land- grant colleges and universities; 
• Identify the assets needed to support agricultural 
production such as land, buildings, machinery, 
and other equipment; 
• Create an extensive database of information on 
uncommon crops and livestock and the value of 
those commodities for assessing the need to 
develop policies and programs to support those 
commodities; 
• Provide geographic data on production so 
agribusinesses will locate near major production 
areas for efficiencies for both producers and 
agribusinesses; 
• Measure the use of modern technologies such as 
conservation practices, organic production, 
renewable energy systems, internet access, and 
specialized marketing strategies; 
• Develop new and improved methods to increase 
agricultural production and profitability; 
• Plan for operations during drought and emergency 
outbreaks of diseases or infestations of pests. 
AUTHORITY 
The 2012 Census of Agriculture was required by law 
under the “Census of Agriculture Act of 1997,” 
Public Law 105-113 (Title 7, United States Code, 
Section 2204g). The law directs the Secretary of 
IV Introduction 
Agriculture to conduct a census of agriculture every 
fifth year. 
DATA COMPARABILITY 
See 2012 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, 
Geographic Area Series, Part 51, Appendix B 
(http://www.agcensus.usda.gOv/Publications/2012/F 
ull Report/Volume E Chapter 1 US/usappxb.pdf) 
for a detailed discussion of these changes. Dollar 
figures are expressed in current dollars and have not 
been adjusted for inflation or deflation. In general, 
data for censuses since 1974 are not fully 
comparable with data for 1969 and earlier censuses 
due to changes in the farm definition. 
REFERENCE PERIOD 
Reference periods for the 2012 Census of 
Agriculture were similar to those used in the 2007 
Census of Agriculture. Crop production is measured 
for the calendar year, livestock and poultry 
inventories are measured as of December 31 of the 
census year, and crop and livestock sales and 
production expenses are measured for the calendar 
year. 
“SEE TEXT” ITEMS 
Several items in the tables include the note “(see 
text).” For descriptions, see the 2012 Census of 
Agriculture, Volume 1, Appendix B 
(http://www.agcensus.usda.gOv/Publications/2012/F 
ull Report/Volume F Chapter 1 US/usappxb.pdf) . 
RESPONDENT CONFIDENTIALITY 
In keeping with the provisions of Title 7 of the 
United States Code, no data are published that would 
disclose information about the operations of an 
individual farm or ranch. All tabulated data are 
subjected to an extensive disclosure review prior to 
publication. Any tabulated item that identifies data 
reported by a respondent, or allows a respondent’s 
data to be accurately estimated or derived, was 
suppressed and coded with a “D”. However, the 
number of farms reporting an item is not considered 
confidential information and is provided even though 
other information is withheld. 
2012 Census of Agriculture 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
