Farm Income in Kind, by Item

Detailed information for 2001

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 28, 2002

• 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 does not apply.

Data sources

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

Data are estimated using both Census of Agriculture (record number 3438) data and data from the Farm Product Prices Survey (record number 3436) .

Error detection

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

Imputation

This methodology does not apply.

Estimation

Income-in-kind estimates are calculated by multiplying the quantity consumed of a commodity by its price. Quantities consumed are generally based on the number of farm operations producing the item at the time of the Census of Agriculture, their average farm family size and the average annual Canadian consumption of the commodity. These quantities are valued at weighted average market prices received for the product during the year.

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 which 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.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Annual estimates of income in kind are published twice each year, at the end of May and at the end of November. In May, data for the previous two calendar years are subject to revision. In November, data for the previous three years may be revised. Every five years a historical revision is done based on the results of the Census of Agriculture. An indication of the expected size of revisions to income in kind can be provided by a statistic known as Theil's Root Mean Square Prediction Error (RMSPE). This statistic represents the average percent difference between the initial and current estimates during the period in question.

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.