Agricultural Production Survey: June 2004 (Final)

Background This sample survey is part of a programme of agricultural production statistics conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The 2004 survey covered livestock, arable and forestry production, but not horticultural production. Target population The target population for the 2004 Agricultural Production Survey was all businesses engaged in 'agricultural production activity' (including livestock, cropping, horticulture and forestry) with the intention of selling that production and/or which owned land that was intended for agricultural activity during the year ended 30 June 2004. The survey population specifically includes businesses classified to the following ANZSIC06 codes: A01 Agriculture A0301 Forestry (excluding native forestry). It also includes parts of: L671200 Non-residential property operators M691000 Scientific research services (agriculture-related research that involves land holding (excluding universities)) P802300 Combined primary and secondary education (agricultural high school operation) P802400 Special school education (special needs education involving agricultural production activity) P810200 Higher education (agriculture-related research undertaken by universities that involves land holding) R912100 Horse and dog racing administration and track operation R912900 Other horse and dog racing activities (racehorse training and racing stables operations) R892200 Nature reserves and conservation parks operation. The survey population specifically excludes: A019300 Beekeeping part of A019900 Other livestock farming nec (worm farming, pet breeding, dog breeding, cat breeding, bird breeding (except poultry, game birds, ostriches, and emus)) A017100 Poultry meat (except growers who also produce eggs for human consumption). Survey population The survey population for the 2004 Agricultural Production Survey was all businesses identified on Statistics New Zealand's Business Frame as being engaged in agricultural activity (as defined above) or if there is any indication of a secondary agricultural activity. The Business Frame is a list of businesses in New Zealand based on firms registered for goods and services tax (GST) with Inland Revenue, while the Client Register consists of all businesses registered with that department. Time series consistency Users should note changes to the population over time. In 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2003, the livestock, cropping, horticulture and forestry sectors were surveyed. The 2004 survey covered the livestock, cropping and forestry sectors (ie horticulture was excluded). In 1999 the survey covered livestock and cropping, while in 2000 the survey covered the horticultural sector only. The 2005 survey covers the livestock, cropping, horticulture and forestry sectors. Between 1994 and 1996, the population was all businesses sourced from the Business Frame that were registered for GST and classified to agriculture. The 1999 Agricultural Production Survey population was sourced solely from AgriBase (a geospatial database owned and managed by AgriQuality New Zealand Ltd). The population for the 2000 Horticulture Production Survey was sourced from the Business Frame, supplemented by AgriBase and growers lists. For the 2002 Census the population was sourced from the Business Frame and the Inland Revenue Client Register. These sources were checked against industry lists and AgriBase to ensure all large units were included in the population. The Business Frame was used for the 2003, 2004 and 2005 surveys. Users should also be aware of changes in questionnaire design when making comparisons between 2004 and earlier years. Major questionnaire changes in 2004 were: Deer questions Improvements made to the questions about deer in the 2004 survey have resulted in improved coverage of younger female and male deer. Users should note that 2004 deer figures are not directly comparable with 2002 and 2003 figures. While it is not possible to quantify the exact extent of this undercoverage, Statistics New Zealand estimates an undercount of about 70,000 deer at 30 June 2002, and 50,000 at 30 June 2003. The 2004 questionnaire was changed as follows: Further instruction was provided in the deer questions 18(i) and (ii) to 'include fawns still on the farm' in the females 'other' and males 'under two years' categories. Previously this instruction did not exist. A new section called 'Fawns and velvet' was introduced, containing questions asking about how many fawns or calves were weaned on the farm and how much velvet was removed during the year. Previously these were part of the deer section questions. Dairy cattle questions A further age breakdown has been introduced for dairy cows and heifers in question 15(i). Data is now collected for the following categories: two years old and over over one but under two years. Previously data was collected for dairy cows and heifers over one year. Reliability of survey estimates Errors are divided into two classes: sampling error and non-sampling error. Sampling error arises from selecting a sample of businesses rather than taking a complete enumeration, and is not applicable when a census is completed. Estimates for the 2004 survey, as for the 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2003 surveys, are subject to sampling error. The 1994 and 2002 Agricultural Production Censuses and the 2000 Horticultural Production Survey are not subject to sampling error. Non-sampling error arises from biases in the patterns of response and non-response, inaccuracies in reporting by respondents, and errors in the recording and classification of data. Statistics New Zealand adopts procedures to detect and minimise these types of errors, but they may still occur and are not easy to quantify. Survey response rates The estimated proportion of eligible businesses responding to the 2004 Agricultural Production Survey is 91 percent. These businesses contribute 91 percent of estimated total agricultural output. Imputation Statistics New Zealand has imputed values for farmers and growers in the 2004 Agricultural Production Survey who did not return a completed questionnaire. The method of imputation used is random 'hot deck' imputation. A proportion of non-respondents were estimated as ineligible. The remaining non-respondents were grouped into imputation cells based on regional council, ANZSIC group and annualised size group information. Each non-respondent was then randomly assigned to a respondent in the same imputation cell and the farm production data of the respondent was copied across to the non-respondent. In order to improve the imputation process, respondents with uncharacteristically high levels of agricultural activity were removed from their respective imputation cells, as it was considered unlikely that any of the non-respondents would have similar characteristics to them. Rounding All farm count data has been rounded. The sum of components in a table may therefore not add to the total shown. Any percentages are calculated from the rounded figures. Copyright Information obtained from Statistics New Zealand may be freely used, reproduced, or quoted unless otherwise specified. In all cases Statistics New Zealand must be acknowledged as the source. 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