Farm Register Update

Detailed information for 2008 to 2010

The Farm Register Update provides a mechanism to ensure the accuracy of the Farm Register between censuses.

Data release - The data collected from these operations will be used only to update and maintain the farm register. There is no publication from these activities.

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

Description

The Farm Register (FR) is the repository of information for all Canadian agricultural operations and is the primary source and control for the Agriculture Division survey program and Census of Agriculture collection and coverage. Historically the FR was updated only after each census, and would provide a static snapshot of Canadian Agricultural Operations at the time of the census collection. As agriculture is a dynamic industry, the nature and status of many agricultural operations would change during the five years between censuses, resulting in the FR becoming less accurate and not being reflective of the changes within the industry over time. With the decision to implement complete mail out for the 2011 Census of Agriculture, an accurate FR is a critical factor. The Farm Register Update questionnaire component of the Continuous Frame Update project addresses this issue by providing a mechanism to ensure the accuracy of the Farm Register between censuses.

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Farms and farm operators

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The Farm Register Update targets agricultural operations where the status is in question.

Instrument design

The questionnaire was developed in consultation with subject matter experts and methodologists. Statistics Canada's Questionnaire Design Research Centre (QDRC) provided feedback on the content and organized the testing of the questionnaire.

Sampling

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

Approximately 4,000 cases per quarter will be selected, targeting potentially new farms and those operations that did not respond to the agricultural surveys or censuses recently.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Questionnaires are mailed directly to survey respondents. In addition to the mail-out / mail-back questionnaire approach, the survey is also conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) for data collection, capture, edit and follow-up.

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

Error detection

The CATI application used for collection and capture contains range and consistency edits and help text. A set of reports is run to identify problem items early in collection for remedial action (e.g. variables with a significant number of edits or missing information). Processing includes checking interviewer notes and manually reviewing significant inconsistencies.

Imputation

Missing information is imputed manually during the edit process.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

The CATI application contains edits used during collection and capture that enable interviewers to correct errors immediately. Each survey step produces reports that are reviewed and that indicate edit failure counts and missing data counts.

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.

Data accuracy

The accuracy of the specific farms added to the Farm Register via the Farm Register Update will be assessed through feedback from the regular Agricultural survey programs. Using the results of the Farm Register Update, the undercoverage of the Farm Register will be evaluated.