Introduction
User consultation
Evaluating the suggestions
Questionnaire content and development
New on the questionnaire
Getting and returning your questionnaire
Data collection begins in May
Options for completing the Census of Agriculture
The Census Help Line
The Census of Agriculture and the Internet
Internet security—completing the questionnaire online
Census follow-up
Large farms
Census Communications Program
Data capture
Edit, follow-up and imputation
Data validation
Data security
Data quality
Data dissemination
Census of Agriculture marketing
Introduction
As previously stated, the censuses of agriculture and population are conducted at the same time every five years. However, once the data are collected, most processing activities are quite separate.
User consultation
Planning for the next census begins even before the current census cycle is finished. A series of workshops were held across Canada in 2012 with users and stakeholders such as federal departments and provincial ministries, agricultural associations, academics and agriculture service providers. Users subsequently submitted recommendations for the types of questions they would like to see on the 2016 Census of Agriculture questionnaire. The recommendations received through these submissions were used to develop the content and design of the census questionnaire.
Evaluating the suggestions
Before going any further, the submitted recommendations had to meet certain criteria before being judged suitable for inclusion in the Census of Agriculture:
- Is this topic of national interest?
- Are data worthwhile at more detailed geographic levels than provincial or national?
- Will farmers easily understand the question?
- Can the question be answered—that is, do the farm operators have the information to answer the question?
- Will farm operators be willing to answer it?
- Will there be a broad demand for the data generated by the question?
- Can the question be answered by either 'Yes,' 'No,' or a quantitative response?
Questionnaire content and development
Although the questionnaire is updated every census to reflect users' changing requirements as identified through the submission process, certain questions appear on every census. These questions—such as those on farm operators, land area, livestock numbers and crop areas—are considered essential by Statistics Canada and other major users of Census of Agriculture data. Repeating basic questions allows the census to measure change over time, while adding new questions and dropping others allows data to be collected that reflect new technologies and structural changes in the agriculture industry. Four new topics, notably the adoption of technologies, direct marketing, succession planning and renewable energy systems were added to the 2016 questionnaire. These topics reflect changes in the industry and strong user demand for this new information. Also, to reduce respondent burden the detailed questions related to farm operating expenses have been replaced with one question asking for total farm operating expenses.
New or changed questions were developed in head office in consultation with industry experts. They were tested a number of times with farm operators across Canada through one-on-one interviews on their farms and in focus groups. Farm operators selected for testing reflected regional diversity—in types of agriculture, production techniques, farm size, language and age. This testing proved that some questions would not perform well on the census, and that the wording of other questions would require fine-tuning. Respondent burden, content-testing results, user priorities and budgets were all taken into consideration in determining the final content of the 2016 Census of Agriculture questionnaire. It was approved by Cabinet in the spring of 2015.
New on the questionnaire
The 2016 Census of Agriculture questionnaire contains questions asked in 2011 as well as new ones. Some questions remain unchanged to maintain consistency and comparability of data over time. Other questions have been added or deleted to reflect changes in the agriculture industry. For example:
- Technology: A new step (section) was added to request the different technologies used on the farm.
- Direct Marketing: A new step was added to collect information on direct marketing practices farms may have.
- Succession Planning: A new step (section) was added on whether the farm has a formal, written succession plan, and if so, who the successor would be in that plan.
- On-farm practices and land features: Several response categories were eliminated to reduce burden on respondents and to simplify the questions on manure, irrigation and land practices
- Land inputs: A new response category was added: Trace minerals and nutrients (copper, manganese, etc.)
- Organic: This category was simplified to reduce burden on respondents and to allow for emerging issues, such as succession planning, to be added to the questionnaire.
- Renewable energy producing systems: A new step was added to collect information on which renewable energy producing systems, if any, are being used on farms.
- Farm operating expenses: Only the total farm operating expenses is requested in 2016. All the detailed expenses have been removed from the questionnaire.
Getting and returning your questionnaire
On May 2, all known farm operations in Canada received an invitation letter to fill out their 2016 Census of Agriculture questionnaire on the internet using a Secure Access Code provided in the letter. If a paper questionnaire was preferred, the respondent could call the Census of Agriculture helpline to obtain the paper questionnaire by mail. Farm operators either completed and submitted an electronic form on the internet or mailed back the paper form directly to Statistics Canada in the National Capital Region.
Data collection begins in May
Conducting the Census of Agriculture jointly with the Census of Population in mid-May helps streamline collection procedures and saves millions of dollars.
In 2016, Canada Post delivered an invitation letter to fill out a Census of Agriculture questionnaire on the internet to addresses where it is believed a farm operator lives. The addresses are determined from Statistics Canada’s Business Register, populated from the previous census and other agriculture surveys. Census of Population invitation letters and questionnaires were delivered by Canada Post as well, but may have been delivered by an enumerator in rural areas.
On the Census of Population questionnaire respondents are asked if there is a farm operator living in the household. This question triggers a follow-up from Head Office to help ensure that new farms are identified and counted.
Options for completing the Census of Agriculture
Respondents were able to complete their questionnaires via the internet, on paper, or by telephone. Telephone follow-up will be conducted with those respondents who received invitation letters or questionnaires but did not return them.
The Census Help Line
The 2016 Census Help Line provided a toll-free telephone service that respondents could call during the collection period to obtain assistance in completing the questionnaire.
The Census of Agriculture and the Internet
In 2016, the option of completing the Census of Population or Census of Agriculture questionnaires over the Internet was offered once again. Both questionnaires used a single portal, or entry point. Instructions for accessing the website address and the Internet forms were included in the invitation letters delivered to respondents, as was the unique secure access code that respondents could use to access the electronic questionnaire. This authenticated users and confirmed that a letter has been received from that household. The Internet version also included navigational aids, drop-down menus, help pages and online edits.
Internet security—completing the questionnaire online
Statistics Canada always takes the protection of confidential information provided online very seriously. A secure login process and strong encryption are key elements in helping to prevent anyone from accessing or tampering with census information when the questionnaire is completed and transmitted by Internet.
Census follow-up
Once the data are collected and captured, Statistics Canada employees edit or check them for completeness. Any questionnaire with missing or incomplete data required followed up by telephone. Questionnaires not returned within a certain period of time, also required telephone follow-up.
Large farms
A special data collection process was developed to handle the increasingly complex structure of large integrated agricultural operations. Each operation's business structure was profiled to determine which of its components were to be enumerated and how many questionnaires needed to be completed. The required number of questionnaires was sent to a contact within the operation. Once completed, they were mailed back to head office, where they were edited before being incorporated into the regular census processing flow.
Census Communications Program
In the months leading up to the census, the Census Communications Program promoted both the Census of Agriculture and the Census of Population. The campaign informed respondents about Census Day, and reminded them of the importance of completing the questionnaire promptly. A variety of separate promotional materials were developed for the Census of Agriculture and distributed to various agricultural organizations, producer groups and the farm media. They were also distributed at a number of farm shows and agricultural conferences, and displayed by businesses in rural areas. The program also solicited third-party support from government and agricultural organizations and corporations. In addition, a series of advertisements ran in the major agricultural trade magazines and newspapers and were aired on farm radio stations during the few weeks leading up to May 10.
Head office processing
Data capture
The Census of Agriculture and Census of Population questionnaires, whether completed and submitted on the internet or on paper go their separate ways once they arrive at the Data Operations Centre in the National Capital Region. There, the paper questionnaires are sorted, electronically scanned and the data automatically captured using Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) software, a technology that reads data from images. Any responses not recognized by the ICR process are sent to a Statistics Canada employee who views the questionnaire image and enters the correct data into the system.
Edit, follow-up and imputation
Once the data have been captured, they are loaded to an automated processing system that takes them through detailed edit, follow-up and imputation processes. The data are first subjected to many rigorous quality control and processing edits to identify and resolve problems related to inaccurate, missing or inconsistent data. A Statistics Canada employee followed up with these problematic records that could not be resolved in editing to clarify the missing or incomplete data. Finally, those situations that cannot be resolved through either edit or follow-up are handled by an imputation procedure that replaces each missing or inconsistent response either with a value consistent with the other data on the questionnaire or with a response obtained from a similar agricultural operation.
Data validation
Data validation follows the edit, follow-up and imputation processes. At this stage, Statistics Canada analysts review the aggregate data at various geographic levels and examine the individual values, large and small, reported for each variable. The data are compared with previous census results, current agricultural surveys and administrative sources. Errors remaining due to coverage, misreporting, data capture or other reasons are identified and corrected. Where necessary, respondents are contacted to verify their responses. Near the end of the validation process, certification reports containing results of the analysis and recommendations for publication are prepared and presented to a review committee.
Data security
The security of personal information is of paramount importance to Statistics Canada. Census data are stored on Statistics Canada systems that are isolated from any other network. External devices, such as telephone dial-in services that connect to Statistics Canada's confidential data storage systems, are not permitted, making it impossible to break into Statistics Canada's databases.
In addition, Statistics Canada's premises have controlled access so that only persons with the appropriate security clearance who have taken the oath of secrecy can enter facilities housing confidential data. Anyone from outside Statistics Canada needing entrance to these premises is escorted by a Statistics Canada employee at all times. Only Statistics Canada employees who need to see Census of Agriculture questionnaires and data as part of their regular work duties are able to access personal information.
Data quality
Quality assurance procedures to ensure complete and accurate information from every agricultural operation in Canada are reviewed and improved for each census.
In 2016, Canada Post delivered a Census of Agriculture invitation letter to addresses where it was believed a farm operator lived. The addresses are determined from the previous census and other agriculture surveys. Census of Population letters and questionnaires were delivered by Canada Post, or dropped off by an enumerator in list/leave areas, or completed by an enumerator in canvasser areas.
To ensure all farm operations were identified, the Census of Population questionnaire asked if there was a farm operator living in the household. This question triggered a follow-up from head office to help ensure that new farms were identified and enumerated for the Census of Agriculture.
Respondents will be able to complete their questionnaires via the Internet, on paper, or by telephone. Telephone follow-up will be conducted with those respondents who received letters and/or questionnaires but did not return them.
In addition, the data processing sequence includes several safeguards that can find 'missing' farms that were counted in 2011 but did not return a questionnaire in 2016 or, conversely, farms that did not exist in 2011 but have been identified on subsequent agriculture surveys since then.
Finally, the Coverage Evaluation Survey gave an estimated undercoverage rate for the 2011 Census of Agriculture of 1.8%.
Data dissemination
Once data are collected, processed, verified and certified, they are ready for public use. Census of Agriculture data are available at low levels of geography and are presented in various standard formats and through custom data tabulations. All published data are subjected to confidentiality restrictions to ensure that no respondent can be identified.
Census of Agriculture marketing
This is the last stage in the census cycle. Once all the data have been collected, processed and produced, users and respondents must be made aware of what products and services are available. The Census of Agriculture staff at head office and Advisory Services staff in the regional reference centres complete most of the promotion. A variety of activities—including mail-outs, media releases, feature articles, client visits and displays—make both the public and private sectors aware of 2016 Census of Agriculture products and services. The marketing, dissemination and communications divisions of Statistics Canada provide technical support.