Egg Producers Survey

Detailed information for December 2000

The data are designed to represent the rate of lay statistics for registered and non-registered flocks. The survey covers egg producers in all provinces and in all sizes of layer flocks.

Data release - February 5, 2001

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The data are designed to represent the rate of lay statistics for registered and non-registered flocks. The survey covers egg producers in all provinces and in all sizes of layer flocks. This information is used by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, marketing boards, government departments and researchers, it is also used to provide trends for government and marketing boards policy analysis.

Reference period: Last seven days of March and September

Collection period: April 1 and September 1

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Livestock and aquaculture

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The universe for the survey is persons reporting hens and pullets, 19 weeks and over, kept for laying. The survey frame is designed to represent all egg producers enumerated in 1996 Census of Agriculture with some exceptions.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design.

A stratified random sample of approximately 2,000 farms is selected.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

The reference period for the survey is the last seven days of March or of September. Sample farms are phoned by the regional offices and data are collected using computer assisted telephone interview (CATI). All captured questionnaires are transmitted to Ottawa.

Imputation

Imputation for missing or inconsistent data is done by changing the raising factors for other records in the stratum. Tabulations are then produced from which data are published monthly and put on CANSIM.

Estimation

In order to produce non biased estimates, representative of the target population, the data collected from the survey are weighted within each strata.

Quality evaluation

The estimates are analyzed and compared with provincial and administrative data before a final estimate is published.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act override the provisions of any other Act, including the Access to Information Act, to guarantee the confidentiality of reported data of individual respondents. 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

Data are revised semi-annually at October 1 and April 1.

Data accuracy

The rate of lay for the registered and non-registered flocks as well as egg prices received by the non-registered producers are based on a probability sample of farming operations. The potential error introduced by sampling can be estimated from the sample itself by using a statistical measure called the coefficient of variation (CV). Over repeated surveys, 95 times out of 100, the relative difference between a sample estimate and what should have been obtained from an enumeration of all farming operations would be less than twice the coefficient of variation. This range of values is referred to as the confidence interval.

Coefficients of variation (CV) are produced for both layer numbers and rates of lay. Egg producers with small flocks tend to move into and out of production from year to year, thus making it very difficult to maintain a good list frame. Rates of lay do not fluctuate widely thus C.V.'s are usually low (within 5%).

The quality of layer numbers in registered flocks is deemed to be high since the number of laying hens in these flocks is set by quota allocation and the flocks are subject to regular audits. The vast majority of layers are found in the registered flocks and thus, total layer estimates can also be considered to be of high quality.