• Develop new and improved methods to inerease 
agrieultural produetion and profitability; 
• Plan for operations during drought and 
emergeney outbreaks of diseases or infestations 
of pests. 
AUTHORITY 
The 2012 Census of Agrieulture was required by law 
under the “Census of Agrieulture Aet of 1997,” 
Publie Law 105-113 (Title 7, United States Code, 
Seetion 2204g). The law direets the Seeretary of 
Agrieulture to eonduet a eensus of agrieulture every 
fifth year. 
FARM DEFINITION 
The eensus definition of a farm is any plaee from 
whieh $1,000 or more of agrieultural produets were 
produeed and sold, or normally would have been 
sold, during the eensus year. The definition has 
ehanged nine times sinee it was established in 1850. 
The eurrent definition was first used for the 1974 
Census of Agrieulture and has been used in eaeh 
subsequent agrieulture eensus. This definition is 
eonsistent with the definition used for eurrent USD A 
surveys. 
DATA COMPARABILITY 
Most data are eomparable between the 2012 and 
2007 eensuses. A few ehanges were made to the 
2012 eensus that affeet eomparability for some data 
items. See 2012 Census of Agrieulture, Geographie 
Area Series, Part 51, Appendix B 
(http://www.ageensus.usda. gov/Publieations/20 1 2/F 
ull Report/Volume L Chapter 1 US/usappxb.pdf) 
for a detailed diseussion of these ehanges. Dollar 
figures are expressed in eurrent dollars and have not 
been adjusted for inflation or deflation. In general, 
data for eensuses sinee 1974 are not fully 
eomparable with data for 1969 and earlier eensuses 
due to ehanges in the farm definition. 
REFERENCE PERIOD 
Referenee periods for the 2012 Census of 
Agrieulture were similar to those used in the 2007 
Census of Agrieulture. Crop produetion is measured 
VI INTRODUCTION 
for the ealendar year, livestoek and poultry 
inventories are measured as of Deeember 31 of the 
eensus year, and erop and livestoek sales and 
produetion expenses are measured for the calendar 
year. 
TABLES AND APPENDIX 
Tables 1 and 2 provide 2012 Census of Agriculture 
operation and operator data for selected American 
Indian reservations in the United States. The 
decision about which reservation to publish was 
based on approval by tribal officials, amount of 
agricultural activity, success of list building, or 
respondent confidentiality. (See Respondent 
Confidentiality below.) The reservations are listed 
in alphabetical order in each table. 
In each table, two columns are given for each 
reservation. The first column represents all 
reservation farms and ranches on that specific 
reservation. The second column represents all 
American Indian or Alaska Native operated farms 
and ranches on that same reservation. The minimum 
requirement for inclusion in the second column is 
that at least one operator be an American Indian or 
Alaskan Native. That operator can be exclusively an 
American Indian or Alaska Native or can be an 
American Indian or Alaska Native in combination 
with one or more other races. 
Table 1, Farm Characteristics of All Farms on 
Selected Reservations and of All Farms Operated 
by American Indians or Alaska Natives on 
Selected Reservations: 2012, provides aggregated 
agricultural data for farms and ranches operating on 
each selected reservation. 
Table 2, Operator Characteristics of All 
Operators on Selected Reservations and of All 
American Indian or Alaska Native Operators on 
Selected Reservations: 2012, presents demographic 
data for all operators (up to three) and for all 
American Indian operators (up to three) reported per 
farm or ranch on the census report forms. 
Appendix. Provides information about data 
collection and data processing activities and 
discusses the methodology used in conducting the 
2012 Census of Agriculture 
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service 
