About the Agricultural Census
Massachusetts Agricultural Data 2017
Every five years, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducts a census of U.S. agriculture. The objective is to obtain a complete picture of agriculture in the nation. These web pages provide an overview of the results of the 2017 Census in Massachusetts.
Basic census information about Massachusetts agriculture is presented with comparisons to previous census years in the pages of this website. The basic statistical unit of measurement is a “farm,” defined as any place that produces $1,000 or more of agricultural products.
What is a farm?
For the purpose of the Agricultural Census, a farm is any place that produces $1,000 or more of agricultural products. A “farm” does not have to produce $1,000 or more. A place may be dened as a farm if they could have produced that much under normal conditions. For example, an extreme weather event might reduce a small farm’s crop output to less than $1,000. “Farms” may also be dened as farms if they receive government payments of $1,000 or more, or they attain points worth $1,000 or more. Points are assigned to crops and livestock on the farm to determine normal production levels. (More information on the 2012 Agricultural Census at: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov)
You will notice that we show two values for 1997 in a number of our graphs and tables. This is because the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) changed its reporting for the 2002 Agricultural Census, showing coverage adjusted totals for all data. In previous years, coverage adjusted totals were only available for some data and were not presented in the main tables. To illustrate how the coverage adjustments affected descriptive measures, both unadjusted and adjusted measures are shown for 1997 in a number of graphs and tables.
What is coverage adjustment?
The Census of Agriculture measures activities of the farm sector by gathering data from a list of known agricultural operators. The list is compiled from past census records, federal agencies and trade associations. NASS maintains as complete a list as possible. However, it's likely that some farms will not be included in the lists. NASS measures the completeness of the lists by conducting surveys (Area Frame Surveys) where they randomly sample tracts of land. In these sample tracts, every agricultural operation and all agricultural land is counted and compared to the census lists. Adjustments are then made in the totals based on the information obtained from these samples. For example, if the Area Frame Samples suggest that farms are under-counted by the census lists, then upwards adjustments are made in census table data reported. This happened in Massachusetts – the number of farms reported in the 1997 census was 5,574 while the adjusted total was 7,307. (More information on the 2012 Agricultural Census at: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov)
