Farm Income in Kind, by Item

Detailed information for 2013

The income in kind series measures the value of agricultural commodities produced on farms and consumed by individuals living on these farm operations.

Data release - May 27, 2014

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The income in kind series measures the value of agricultural commodities produced on farms and consumed by the farm operators and their families. The home-consumed products are valued at prevailing market prices such that income in kind represents the receipts producers would have received had the product been sold rather than consumed. Agricultural products that are used as inputs in the production of other agricultural products, such as grain fed to livestock, are not considered as income in kind because they form part of the value of the final product.

Agricultural commodities included in the income in kind series are dairy products, cattle, calves, hogs, sheep and lambs, hens and chickens, turkeys, eggs, potatoes, vegetables, fruits, maple products, honey and forest products.

Income in kind data are used in the calculation of Realized Net Farm Income (record number 3473).

Reference period: Calendar year

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Farm financial statistics

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Canadian farm operators and their families, as defined by the Census of Agriculture.

Instrument design

This methodology does not apply.

Sampling

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Data sources

Data are collected from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

Data are estimated using a number of different data sources, including: Food availability (per person) (record number 3475); Census of Agriculture (record number 3438); Annual Greenhouse, Sod and Nursery Survey (record number 3416); Fruits and Vegetables Survey (record number 3407); Honey Production, Value and Colonies (record number 3419); Maple Products (record number 3414); Mushroom Growers' Survey (record number 3411); Livestock Survey (record number 3460); Milk Sold Off Farms and Cash Receipts from the Sale of Milk (record number 3432); Production of Poultry and Eggs (record number 5039); and data from the Farm Product Prices Survey (FPPS) (record number 3436).

Error detection

Macro editing is used. Editing is done at the provincial level.

Imputation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Estimation

Income in kind estimates are derived using three different methods, depending on the commodity. For maple products, estimates of the quantities consumed by farm operators and their families are obtained through surveys and administrative data.

Estimates of quantities consumed for the other commodities (dairy products, cattle, calves, hogs, sheep, lambs, hens and chickens, turkeys, eggs, potatoes, vegetables, fruits and honey) are based on the number of farm operations producing the item, their average farm family size and the average annual Canadian consumption of the commodity.

Beginning in 1986, a new method for calculating income in kind was used for meat products (beef, veal, pork, sheep and lambs). Income in kind for the above listed livestock is derived from the 'consumed on farms' estimates produced by the Agriculture Commodities Section, multiplied by the annual average slaughter prices. The 'consumed on farms' estimate for sheep and lambs is published in CANSIM table 003-0094. The estimate for beef and veal is included under 'Slaughter of cattle' in CANSIM table 003-0083, while the estimate for pork is included under 'Other disposition of hogs' in CANSIM table 003-0102.

As of 1986, income in kind for forest products is based on the number of farm households reporting woodland areas on the Census of Agriculture, annual consumption of wood cords per farm and the average annual price.

Once the quantities of the farm products consumed by producers and their families have been established, they are valued at weighted average market prices received for the product during the year, from the farm cash receipts series.

Quality evaluation

The quality of farm income in kind estimates is evaluated by checking the consistency of these data within the time series and using estimates from other sources. The farm income in kind series is also a component of the Farm Income series. An interpretative analysis is conducted for the series on its own and as it relates to the other components.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

In order to prevent any data disclosure, confidentiality analysis is done using the Statistics Canada Generalized Disclosure Control System (G-Confid). G-Confid is used for primary suppression (direct disclosure) as well as for secondary suppression (residual disclosure). Direct disclosure occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of or dominated by few enterprises while residual disclosure occurs when confidential information can be derived indirectly by piecing together information from different sources or data series.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Annual estimates of farm income in kind are published twice each year, at the end of May and at the end of November. At each release, data for the previous two calendar years are subject to revision. Every five years a historical revision is done based on the results of the Census of Agriculture (record number 3438).

Data accuracy

No direct measures of the margin of error in the income in kind estimates can be calculated. The quality of the estimates can be inferred from analysis of revisions and from a subjective assessment of the data sources and methodology used in the preparation of the estimates.

Estimates of the value of income in kind are prepared using a combination of surveys, census and administrative data. These data reflect typical Statistics Canada standards for quality assurance and, therefore, their quality is considered to be good. However, since little information on the consumption patterns of farm families exists, it is not possible to objectively validate the income in kind estimates.

However, it is important to note that the income in kind data is subject to error. Administrative data may contain non-sampling error such as keying mistakes, while survey data may suffer from both non-sampling and sampling error. Users should also note that the quality of individual estimates may not be consistent between commodities or between provinces because the data sources and their quality may vary.