2001 Census of Agriculture - Census Definitions and Notes

Conversion factors
1 acre = 0.404 685 6 hectares
1 hectare = 2.471 acres
1 square foot = 0.092 903 04 square meters
1 square meter = 10.763 91 square feet
1 kilogram = 2.204 622 6 pounds
1 pound = 0.453 592 4 kilograms class=""

Rounding
Totals may not equal the sum of their parts due to the use of conversion factors or the rounding of fractions to whole numbers.

Amalgamations
Due to confidentiality constraints, data for subdivisions with very few farms were combined with data from adjacent areas. In most cases, the name of the amalgamated subdivisions is identical to the largest component of the amalgamation.

• Starland County refers to: Drumheller and Starland County
• Lakeland County refers to: Improvement District No. 24 (Wood Buffalo) and Lakeland County
• Ranchland M.D. No. 66 refers to: Kananaskis Improvement District, Improvement District No. 9 (Banff), Improvement District No. 12 (Jasper), Crowsnest Pass, and Ranchland M.D. No. 66
• Lesser Slave River M.D. No. 124 refers to: Opportunity No. 17 and Lesser Slave River No. 124

• Improvement District No. 4 (Waterton Park)
• Improvement District No. 13 (Elk Island)
• Improvement District No. 25 (Willmore Wilderness Park)

Incomplete enumeration of Indian reserves and Indian settlements
On some Indian reserves and Indian settlements in the 2001 Census, enumeration was not permitted or was interrupted before it could be completed. Moreover, for some Indian reserves and Indian settlements, the quality of the enumeration was considered inadequate. These geographic areas are called incompletely enumerated Indian reserves and Indian settlements.

Data for census farms located on these incompletely enumerated reserves and settlements are therefore not available. The impact of the missing data is very small for higher-level geographic areas (Canada, provinces, and census agricultural regions). However, the impact is more significant for those smaller areas (census divisions and census consolidated subdivisions) in which the affected reserves and settlements are located.

For a listing of the names and locations of the incompletely enumerated Indian reserves and Indian settlements, please refer to the Statistics Canada web site at http://www.statcan.gc.ca

Land use in 2001

• Total Land in Crops includes all areas reported for field crops, fruits, vegetables, nursery products and sod
• Summerfallow includes idle land that has not been worked or sprayed for more than one year
• Tame or Seeded Pasture refers to land that has been cultivated and seeded, or drained, irrigated, fertilized or controlled for brush or weeds; does not include areas to be harvested for hay, silage or seed.
• Natural Land for Pasture refers to native pasture, native hay, rangeland, grazable bush, etc.
• All other land includes land on which farm buildings, barnyards, lanes, home gardens, greenhouses and mushroom houses are located; idle land; woodlots; sugarbush; tree windbreaks; bogs; marshes; sloughs; woodland; wetland; etc. All Other Land includes Christmas tree area.

Computer use for farm management
As it has since 1991, the Census of Agriculture includes data on the number of farmers using a computer to manage their farm. In 2001, however, data is also available for the first time on whether they are using it for accounting, inventory control, word processing, Internet, email or some other application.

Leased machinery
In 2001, the Census of Agriculture asked respondents to distinguish between "owned" and "leased" for each type of farm machinery and equipment. Past censuses have not made this distinction.

Certified organic products
2001 data also includes information on how many farmers are producing certified organic commodities and categorizes them by type (fruit, vegetables, greenhouse products, field crops, animals or animal products, or "other").

Deleted Topic in 2001

Capital purchases
The entire topic was excluded since more complete information is available through the Farm Financial Survey, which is conducted every two years.

Definitions

Certified organic products
Certified organic products come from farms that are operated according to a set of principles requiring the avoidance of manufactured chemicals whose adherence to these principles is verified by a third party authorized to certify the operation.

Contour cultivation
Contour cultivation is the practice of cultivating the field across the slope to reduce soil erosion from rapid water run-off.

Crop rotation
Crop rotation is a practice where crops are alternated each year, or in a multi-year cycle, for soil conservation or disease control purposes.

Family corporation
A family corporation is an agricultural corporation in which an individual or family owns the majority of the corporation shares.

Farm
A census farm is an agricultural operation that produces at least one of the following products intended for sale: crops (hay, field crops, tree fruits or nuts, berries or grapes, vegetables, seed); livestock (cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, game animals, other livestock); poultry (hens, chickens, turkeys, chicks, game birds, other poultry); animal products (milk or cream, eggs, wool, furs, meat); or other agricultural products (Christmas trees, greenhouse or nursery products, mushrooms, sod, honey, maple syrup products).

Farm capital
Farm capital includes the value of all farmland, buildings, farm machinery and equipment (including passenger vehicles used in the farm business) and livestock and poultry. Respondents report the value of their land, buildings, farm machinery and equipment as of Census Day. Values for livestock and poultry inventories reported in the census are calculated using data on average farm prices for the various types of livestock and poultry. Farm capital does not include the value of crops in the field or in storage, or farm inputs on hand, such as fertilizer and seed.

Farm operators
In 2001, 1996 and 1991, "farm operators" was defined as those persons responsible for the day-to-day management decisions made in the operation of a census farm or agricultural operation. Up to three farm operators could be reported per farm. Prior to the 1991 Census of Agriculture, the farm operator referred to only one person responsible for the day-to-day decisions made in running an agricultural operation.

Farm type
Farm typing is a procedure that classifies each census farm according to the predominant type of production. This is done by estimating the potential receipts from the inventories of crops and livestock reported on the questionnaire and determining the product or group of products that make up the majority of the estimated receipts. The commodity or group of commodities that account for 51 per cent or more of the total potential receipts determines the farm type.

"Grain and oilseed" farm type includes the following farm types: oilseed, corn for grain, dry field pea and bean, and other small grain.

"Field crops" farm type includes the following farm types: hay and fodder crops, forage seed for seed, tobacco, potato and other field crops.

"Miscellaneous specialty" farm type includes the following farm types: sheep and lamb; goat; horse and pony; fur; other livestock specialty; mushroom; greenhouse products; nursery products and sod; maple; and Christmas tree.

"Livestock combination" farm type includes cattle and hog farms; cattle, hog and sheep farms; and other livestock combination farms.

"Other combination" farm type includes other field crop combination farms; fruit and vegetable combination farms; and all other types of farms.

Grassed waterways
Grassed waterways are either natural or constructed to control soil erosion. The waterway is permanently grassed and consists of a shallow channel, which is designed to slow down run-off water. The grass stabilizes the soil and prevents it from being washed away. They are usually shaped to allow easy crossing by farm machinery.

Green manure crops for plough down
A green manure crop for plough down is the practice of incorporating young green plants into the soil for fertility purposes. These plants are usually grown with the single purpose of being used as a soil improver. Common examples are buckwheat and red clover.

Gross Farm Receipts
Farm receipts measure the gross revenue generated by agricultural holdings. They are not a direct measure of profit since operating expenses have not been deducted. The data for receipts were reported for the previous calendar year or for the last complete accounting (fiscal) year.

Gross Receipts include:

• receipts from all agricultural products sold
• marketing board payments received
• program and rebate payments received
• GST refunds received
• dividends received from co-operatives
• receipts from maple syrup and Christmas tree sales
• custom work and all other farm receipts
• forest products (firewood, pulpwood, logs, fence posts, pilings and standing timber)

• receipts from the sale of capital items (e.g. land, buildings or machinery)
• receipts from the sale of goods bought only for retail sales

Hired paid labour
Work done on the farm during the previous calendar year by persons 15 years of age and over, either on a year-round, seasonal or temporary basis. Work excludes housework, custom work and non-agricultural work. Agricultural and manpower researchers use data on hired labour to estimate and evaluate labour requirements and for planning training programs.

Interest expenses
Refers to interest on operating debt and on all other debts (e.g., machinery or mortgage debt) for the previous calendar year or for the last complete accounting (fiscal) year. Interest expenses do not include payment of principle or amount of debt outstanding. Interest expenses as a percent of total expenses is used as a proxy for debt since actual debt levels are not reported in the census.

Livestock inventory
Includes all animals on the farm, regardless of ownership; and any animals owned but pastured on a community pasture, grazing co-op or public land. Livestock on farms exclude animals owned but kept on a farm, ranch, or feedlot operated by someone else.

Livestock data from the census are used as the basis for annual estimates and for estimating inventories, production and future supplies of animals and animal products for domestic consumption and export. Farmers use census estimates to make production and marketing decisions while government departments, private companies and farm media use census information in market analysis and formulation of agricultural outlooks.

Mechanical or hand weeding of crops
Mechanical or hand weeding of crops is extracting weeds mechanically or by hand.

Natural land for pasture
Natural land for pasture is grazable land that has not been recently improved.

Non-family corporation
A non-family corporation is an agricultural corporation in which a group of unrelated individuals own the majority of the corporation shares.

Organic certifying agency
A certification agency is an accreditation body that can be a co-operative association or an incorporated entity. It is responsible for establishing a standard and then verifying that those seeking its accreditation meet that standard. Organic certification is based in the Organic Agriculture Standard put out by the Canadian General Standards Board and differs slightly from province to province.

Paid on a year-round basis
An employee who is paid on a year-round basis is employed either part time or full time twelve months of the year.

Paid on a seasonal or temporary basis
An employee who is paid on a seasonal or temporary basis is employed part time or full time for only part of the year.

Partnership with or without a written agreement
A partnership with or without a written agreement is an agricultural operation where the business is owned and operated jointly by two or more persons with or without a written agreement and where risks and profits are shared. The partners may or may not own the land, buildings, machinery, etc.

Permanent grass cover
Permanent grass cover is a practice where a field or land is kept in grass cover indefinitely to keep the soil from being eroded away.

Present market value
The present market value of something is the amount of money it would bring in if it were sold in today's market.

Quota
A quota is an entitlement, or right, to sell or deliver a certain amount of an agricultural product (for example, milk, eggs or poultry) produced under supply management.

Sole proprietorship operation
A sole proprietorship operation is an agricultural operation where one person owns the non-incorporated business. The person who owns the business may or may not own the land, buildings, machinery, etc. There may be multiple operators (persons responsible for the day-to-day management decisions) such as husband and wife, father and son, etc.

Strip-cropping
Strip-cropping (or strip farming, field strip-cropping or wind strip-cropping) is a method of controlling soil erosion by dividing the farm into narrow fields having different crops, with or without fallow. For example, the narrow fields may be alternately cropped-uncropped or they may be strips of different crops. The widths of the cropped strips are usually multiples of a tillage implement or spray boom, etc.

Summerfallow land
Summerfallow land is a term used to describe land on which no crop will be grown in order to conserve moisture but will be sprayed or cultivated for weed control.

Tame or seeded pasture
Tame or seeded pasture is grazable land that has been improved from its natural state by seeding, draining, irrigating, fertilizing or weed control.

Tillage
Tillage is the practice of working the soil for the purpose of bringing about the more favourable conditions for plant growth. Clean-till (conventional tillage) incorporates most of the crop residue into the soil while minimum-till (conservation tillage) retains most of the crop residue on the surface. No-till includes direct seeding into stubble or sod.

Windbreaks or shelterbelts
Windbreaks or shelterbelts are trees, either planted or naturally present. This practice is used more predominantly in western Canada where farmland is more susceptible to wind action and where trapping snow for moisture is important.

Winter cover crops
Winter cover crops are crops such as oats or fall rye seeded in the fall to protect the soil from water and wind erosion during the winter and from heavy rains and run-off in the spring.

Notes on Census Definitions and Data

(1) Farm
The 2001 Census of Agricultural definition of a census farm remained constant with the 1996 definition, which was expanded to include commercial poultry hatcheries and operations that produced only Christmas trees.

Over time, the definition of a farm has changed. In 1971 and 1976, a farm was defined as an agricultural holding of one acre or more with sales of agricultural products of $50 or more. In 1981 and 1986, the minimum sales requirement was increased to $250.

In 1991, a farm was referred to as a census farm, ranch or other agricultural holding which produces at least one of the following products intended for sale (no minimum sales requirement): crops, livestock, poultry, animal products, greenhouse or nursery products, mushrooms, sod or honey.

(2) Operating arrangements
The 1996 questions on year of incorporation for corporate farms and on other types of operations were omitted from the 2001 Census questionnaire.

(3) Land tenure
In 2001, the area sharecropped, rented or leased from others was split into two separate categories:

• Area rented or leased from others
• Area crop shared from others

• total number of farms producing certified organic products
• fruits, vegetables or greenhouse products
• field crops (grains, oilseeds, etc.)
• animals or animal products (meat, milk, eggs, etc.)
• other (maple syrup, herbs, etc.)

(6) Winter wheat/fall rye
Winter wheat or fall rye is to be harvested in 2001.

(7) Hay and field crops

• Chick peas, Ginseng and Caraway seed are new variables in 2001.
• Fababeans, Triticale and Safflower were removed and are reported under Other Field Crops
• All other tame hay cut for silage and Other fodder crops categories used in 1996 were combined into one category: All other tame hay and fodder crops cut for hay or silage.

• The Producing area column was added for all fruit trees and nuts, and the Number of bearing and non-bearing categories was dropped
• Saskatoons was added as a separate category

(10) Christmas trees
The 1996 question on number of Christmas trees harvested was not on the 2001 questionnaire.

(11) All other land
All other land includes land on which farm buildings, barnyards, lanes, home gardens, greenhouses and mushroom houses are located; idle land; woodlots; sugarbush; tree windbreaks; bogs; marshes; sloughs; etc.

Since 1996, "All Other Land" also includes Christmas tree area. Some operators reported unplanted land intended for crops as idle land (a component of "All Other Land") since at the time of the Census of Agriculture, they were uncertain as to whether this land would be planted. This situation only affected farms not included in the Progress of Seeding Follow-up.

(12) Herbicide/insecticide/fungicide use
The area of land that has been treated with herbicides, insecticides and fungicides is under-reported. However, the data are comparable with previous censuses.

(13) Manure application
As in 1996, the area of land on which manure was applied using each manure application method was under-reported. However, the 1996 and 2001 data are comparable.

(14) Soil conservation practices
In 2001, Green manure crops for plough-down and Mechanical or hand weeding of crops were added to this category.

(15) Cattle and calves
In 2001, the Heifers, 1 year and over category used in 1996 was split into three separate sub-categories:

• for beef herd replacement
• for dairy heard replacement
• for slaughter of feeding

(16) Pigs In 2001, the categories All other pigs-under 45 lbs. and All other pigs-45 lbs and over used in 1996 was replaces with:

• nursing and weaner pigs
• grower and finishing pigs

• Wild boars and Elk were added as separate categories and the Rabbits category was dropped, although rabbits were still reported under Other livestock
• Alpacas are now listed with llamas

(19) Value of farm machinery and equipment
For the 1996 and 2001 Census of Agriculture, operators were asked to report the present market value of all farm machinery and equipment that they owned or leased on Census Day.

Changes made in 2001 are as follows:

• Number of items column used in 1996 was split into two categories:
• Number owned
• Number leased
• Irrigation equipment was added as a separate category
• Separate categories on Two-wheel drive and Four-wheel drive tractors were dropped from the 2001 questionnaire
• Tractors under 20hp., Tractors 20-39 hp., and Tractors 40-99 hp. used in 1996 were combined into one category: Tractors under 100 hp.
• Self-propelled grain combines and Pull-type grain combines used in 1996 were combined into one category: Combines
• Swathers and Mower conditioners used in 1996 were combined into one category: Swathers and mower-conditioners
• Balers making bales less than 200 lbs. and Balers making bales 200 lbs. or more used in 1996 were combined into one category: Balers.

(21) Farm operating expenses
Refers to gross operating expenses of the operation in 2000 (calendar year) or for the last complete accounting (fiscal) year.

Changes made in 2001 are as follows:

• Custom work, contract work and machinery rental expenses used in 1996 was split into two separate categories:
• Custom work and contract work
• Rental and leasing of farm machinery, equipment and vehicles
• Diesel fuel, gasoline, oil and lubricants for farm machinery and Fuel expenses for heating and crop drying used in 1996 were combined into one category: All fuel (diesel, gasoline, oil, wood, natural gas, etc.).
• Rent and leasing of land and buildings on a cash basis and Rent and Leasing of land and buildings on a share crop basis used in 1996 was combined into one category: Rental and leasing of land and buildings.
• Electricity and Telephone and all other telecommunication services used in 1996 were combined into one category: Electricity, telephone and all other telecommunication services.
• The Packaging material expenses and Insurance premiums categories no longer existed separately, but were included in All other farm business operating expenses.
• Question on percentage of seed, plants, cuttings and bulbs purchased commercially was dropped.
• All Other Expenses was phrased differently in 1996 and excludes depreciation and capital cost allowance.

(23) Farm type
A farm is classified according to the predominant commodity produced. The commodity or group of commodities that account for 51 per cent or more of the total gross farm receipts determines the farm type.

(24) Use of computer
Indicate the type of computer application used was added in 2001.

Source: Statistics Canada
Prepared by: Statistics and Data Development Unit, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development

Prepared by: Reynold Jaipaul

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