Mushroom Growers' Survey

Detailed information for 2008

The purpose of this survey is to provide reliable estimates of Canadian production of mushrooms.

Data release - July 3, 2009

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

This survey collects data on mushroom growing in Canada. The data are used by the producers' associations for the purpose of analyzing domestic production trends and the varieties of mushrooms grown on different types of farms.

Reference period: Calendar year

Collection period: Spring

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Crops and horticulture

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The annual Mushroom Growers' Survey is a census of all mushroom growers with area over 100 square feet. The population of mushroom growers is derived from the Census of Agriculture, supplemented by administrative data from various sources.

The target population is all mushroom growers with area over 100 square feet that meet Statistics Canada's definition of a farm. A farm is defined as an operation that produces at least one agricultural product and will report revenue and/or expenses for that agricultural production to the Canada Revenue Agency. Institutional farms and community farms are excluded from the target population.

The observed population consists of establishments on Statistics Canada's Business Register that represent this target population. This frame of operations is derived using signals of agricultural activities on the latest set of tax declarations. To improve the overall coverage of this frame to the target population, information from additional sources including lists of special operations and survey feedback is used to include establishments which report their fiscal data differently.

Instrument design

The survey questionnaire asks growers to identify the species of mushroom grown, the type of operation and growing medium, growing area, production and value of sales, value of investment including lands, buildings and equipment and number of employees and payroll. Data are collected for both common (Agaricus) and specialty mushrooms.

The questionnaire was developed by subject matter specialists through consultation with the provinces and industry experts. New questions are not pre-tested in the field. However, testing is conducted in-house for flow and consistency. Questions will be changed, added or removed as the need arises. Required changes are usually identified through such means as subject matter specialist research, changes in market trends and field staff debriefing reports.

Sampling

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

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2009-03-23 to 2009-05-05

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.

A survey questionnaire is mailed out to every mushroom grower in Canada. The responses are mailed back directly to Statistics Canada in Ottawa.

For British Columbia, administrative data are also collected from the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands for production and value data. These data are used to augment the survey data to ensure a more complete picture of the industry is obtained. Investment and payroll data are obtained and compiled from the returned questionnaires. Area under cultivation for British Columbia is an estimate.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Micro data are edited for accuracy, consistency and completeness upon return. Significant data inconsistencies are followed-up and verified by telephone. All editing of data is done manually.

Current year preliminary survey data is collected and verified. As part of the confirmation process, in order to minimize errors and ensure the estimates are up-to-date, accurate and reliable, the previous year's data is re-collected and revised if required.

Imputation

Tabular data are compiled only from those growers who respond. There is no weighting for non-response. Data are imputed only for those growers who do not respond and whose continuing existence in the mushroom industry can be verified. For such cases, the data imputed are obtained from the previous year's questionnaire.

Any incorrect or missing data from respondents is imputed using historical data or various ratios.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

Data from various marketing boards assists in the verification of the level estimates obtained through the survey. Area under cultivation is compared quinquennially to the Census of Agriculture.

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

This methodology does not apply to this survey.

Data accuracy

Disseminated data are subject to a certain degree of error such as incorrect information from respondents or mistakes introduced during processing. Reasonable efforts are made to ensure such errors are kept within acceptable limits through careful questionnaire design, editing of data for inconsistencies and subsequent follow-up and quality control of manual processing operations.

The Mushroom Grower's Survey obtains a response rate in the range of 55% to 65% of respondents, which represents about 90% of all mushroom production in Canada. A lower response rate is expected when using a mail-out /mail-back methodology. Manual imputation is not tracked at the time of processing to determine the percentage of non-response. Any anomalies or inconsistencies detected with survey and administrative data are verified with the source, and where necessary, adjustments are made.

For British Columbia, industry specialists are considered to be the best source available, and data received from them is judged to be of very good quality, even in those circumstances where adjustments have been made.