Why do we conduct this survey?

The purpose of this survey is to collect information for producing national and provincial level estimates of potato production.

These estimates will be used to assess the economic health of the industry. Agricultural producers and industry analysts will work with this information to make production and marketing decisions, and government analysts will use it to develop agricultural policies in Canada.

Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

Your participation in this survey is required under the authority of the Statistics Act.

Other important information

Authorization to collect this information

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

Confidentiality

By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine the acquired data with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Data-sharing agreements

To reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Enterprise Statistics Division
150 Tunney’s Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0T6

You may also contact us by email at infostats or by fax at 1-514-496-4879.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agency of Prince Edward Island, as well as with the Manitoba Department of Agriculture.

For agreements with provincial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

Note: Legal name modifications should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

Note: Press the help button (?) for additional information.

Legal Name

The legal name is one recognized by law, thus it is the name liable for pursuit or for debts incurred by the business or organization. In the case of a corporation, it is the legal name as fixed by its charter or the statute by which the corporation was created.

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

To indicate a legal name of another legal entity you should instead indicate it in question 3 by selecting 'Not currently operational' and then choosing the applicable reason and providing the legal name of this other entity along with any other requested information.

Operating Name

The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

Legal name

Operating name (if applicable)

2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where needed.

Note: The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire.

First name

Last name

Title

Preferred language of communication

• English
• French

Mailing address (number and street)

City

Province, territory or state

Postal code or ZIP code

Country

• Canada
• United States

Email address

Telephone number (including area code)

Example: 123-123-1212

Extension number (if applicable)

Fax number (including area code)

Example: 123-123-1212

3. Verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

• Operational
• Not currently operational
  Why is this business or organization not currently operational?
  • Seasonal operations
    • When did this business or organization close for the season?
      • Date
    • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
      • Date
  • Ceased operations
    • When did this business or organization cease operations?
      • Date
    • Why did this business or organization cease operations?
      • Bankruptcy
      • Liquidation
      • Dissolution
      • Other - Specify the other reasons for ceased operations
  • Sold operations
    • When was this business or organization sold?
      • Date
    • What is the legal name of the buyer?
  • Amalgamated with other businesses or organizations
    • When did this business or organization amalgamate?
      • Date
    • What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?
    • What are the legal names of the other amalgamated businesses or organizations?
  • Temporarily inactive but will re-open
    • When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?
      • Date
    • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
      • Date
    • Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?
  • No longer operating due to other reasons
    • When did this business or organization cease operations?
      • Date
    • Why did this business or organization cease operations?

4. Verify or provide the current main activity of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

Note: The described activity was assigned using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Note: Press the help button (?) for additional information, including a detailed description of this activity complete with example activities and any applicable exclusions.

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS, are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The target entity for which NAICS is designed are businesses and other organizations engaged in the production of goods and services. They include farms, incorporated and unincorporated businesses and government business enterprises. They also include government institutions and agencies engaged in the production of marketed and non-marketed services, as well as organizations such as professional associations and unions and charitable or non-profit organizations and the employees of households.

The associated NAICS should reflect those activities conducted by the business or organizational units targeted by this questionnaire only, as identified in the 'Answering this questionnaire' section and which can be identified by the specified legal and operating name. The main activity is the activity which most defines the targeted business or organization's main purpose or reason for existence. For a business or organization that is for-profit, it is normally the activity that generates the majority of the revenue for the entity.

The NAICS classification contains a limited number of activity classifications; the associated classification might be applicable for this business or organization even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business or organization's main activity.

Please note that any modifications to the main activity through your response to this question might not necessarily be reflected prior to the transmitting of subsequent questionnaires and as a result they may not contain this updated information.

The following is the detailed description including any applicable examples or exclusions for the classification currently associated with this business or organization.

Description and examples

• This is the current main activity
• This is not the current main activity

Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's main activity

e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

Main activity

5. You indicated that is not the current main activity.

Was this business or organization's main activity ever classified as: ?

• Yes
  When did the main activity change?
  • Date
• No

6. Search and select the industry classification code that best corresponds to this business or organization's main activity.

How to search:

• if desired, you can filter the search results by first selecting this business or organization's activity sector
• enter keywords or a brief description that best describes this business or organization main activity
• press the Search button to search the database for an activity that best matches the keywords or description you provided
• then select an activity from the list.

Select this business or organization's activity sector (optional)

• Farming or logging operation
• Construction company or general contractor
• Manufacturer
• Wholesaler
• Retailer
• Provider of passenger or freight transportation
• Provider of investment, savings or insurance products
• Real estate agency, real estate brokerage or leasing company
• Provider of professional, scientific or technical services
• Provider of health care or social services
• Restaurant, bar, hotel, motel or other lodging establishment
• Other sector

Enter keywords or a brief description, then press the Search button

7. You have indicated that the current main activity of this business or organization is:

Main activity

Are there any other activities that contribute significantly (at least 10%) to this business or organization's revenue?

• Yes, there are other activities
  Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's secondary activity
• No, that is the only significant activity

Provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's secondary activity

e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

8. Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities?

When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.

Approximately what percentage of this business or organization's revenue is generated by each of the following activities?

	Percentage of revenue
Main activity
Secondary activity
All other activities
Total percentage

Area planted and harvested

1. What was the total area of potatoes planted in (current year)

Report for the entire operation.

Report the area of potatoes planted on land owned or rented by all partners in the operation.

Planted area refers to an area of land that potatoes were planted on during the spring of the reference year.

Total area planted

Unit of measure

• Acres
• Hectares

2. What was the total area of potatoes harvested in (current year)

Report for the entire operation.

Report the area of potatoes harvested on land owned or rented by all partners in the operation.

Total area harvested

Unit of measure

• Acres
• Hectares

Yield or production

3. For the potatoes harvested in (current year) would you prefer to report the average yield or total production?

Yield is the measure of a crop produced from single unit of land area.

To calculate: yield = production / harvested area of land

For example, if you produced 2,500 hundredweight (cwt) of potatoes on 10 acres of land, yield is 250 cwt per acre.

Production is the amount of crop produced from all harvested land area.

To calculate: production = yield * harvested area of land

For example, if you produced 250 cwt per acre of potatoes and harvested 10 acres, production would be 2,500 cwt.

• Average yield
• Total production

Average field run yield

4. What was the average field run yield of harvested potatoes?

Report yield based on the harvested area only.

Include all harvested potatoes, not just the marketable yield.

Average yield

Unit of measure per

• Metric tonnes
• Hundredweight (cwt)
• Imperial tons
• Barrels (165 pounds)
• Pounds

Total field run production

5. What was the total field run production of harvested potatoes?

Report the total production for the operation.

Include all harvested potatoes, not just the marketable production.

Total production

Unit of measure

• Metric tonnes
• Hundredweight (cwt)
• Imperial tons
• Barrels (165 pounds)
• Pounds
• 10 pound bag
• 25 pound bag
• 50 pound bag
• 75 pound bag
• Kilograms

Agricultural production

6. Which of the following agricultural products are currently being produced on this operation?

Select all that apply.

• Field crops
• Hay
• Summerfallow
• Potatoes
• Fruit, berries and nuts
• Vegetables
• Sod
• Nursery products
• Greenhouse products
• Cattle or calves
• Include beef or dairy.
• Pigs
• Sheep and lambs
• Mink
• Fox
• Hens and chickens
• Turkeys
• Maple taps
• Honey bees
• Mushrooms
• Other - Specify agricultural products:
• Not producing agricultural products

Area in crops

7. What area of this operation is used for the following crops?

Report the areas only once, even if used for more than one crop type.

Exclude land used by others.

What area of this operation is used for the following crops?

	Area	Unit of measure
Field crops
Hay
Summerfallow
Potatoes
Fruit, berries and nuts
Vegetables
Sod
Nursery products
List of unit measures Acres Hectares Arpents

Greenhouse area

8. What is the total area under glass, plastic or other protection used for growing plants?

Total area

Unit of measure

• square feet
• square metres

Livestock (excluding birds)

9. How many of the following animals are on this operation?

Report all animals on this operation, regardless of ownership, including those that are boarded, custom-fed or fed under contract.

Include all animals kept by this operation, regardless of ownership, that are pastured on a community pasture, grazing co-op or public land.

Exclude animals owned but kept on a farm, ranch or feedlot operated by someone else.

How many of the following animals are on this operation?

	Number
Cattle and calves
Pigs
Sheep and lambs
Mink
Fox

Birds

10. How many of the following birds are on this operation?

Report all poultry on this operation, regardless of ownership, including those grown under contract.

Include poultry for sale and poultry for personal use.

Exclude poultry owned but kept on an operation operated by someone else.

Report all poultry on this operation, regardless of ownership, including those grown under contract

	Number
Hens and chickens
Turkeys

Maple taps

11. What was the total number of taps made on maple trees last spring?

Total number of taps

Honey bees

12. How many live colonies of honey bees (used for honey production or pollination) are owned by this operation?

Include bees owned, regardless of location.

Number of colonies

Mushrooms

13. What is the total mushroom growing area (standing footage) on this operation?

Include mushrooms grown using beds, trays, tunnels or logs.

Total area

Unit of measure

• square feet
• square metres

Changes or events

1. Indicate any changes or events that affected the reported values for this business or organization, compared with the last reporting period.

Select all that apply.

• Strike or lock-out
• Exchange rate impact
• Price changes in goods or services sold
• Contracting out
• Organizational change
• Price changes in labour or raw materials
• Natural disaster
• Recession
• Change in product line
• Sold business or business units
• Expansion
• New or lost contract
• Plant closures
• Acquisition of business or business units
• Other - Specify the other changes or events:
• No changes or events

Contact person

1. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.

Is Provided Given Names, Provided Family Name the best person to contact?

• Yes
• No

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

First name:

Last name:

Title:

Email address:

Telephone number (including area code):

Extension number (if applicable):

Fax number (including area code):

Feedback

1. How long did it take to complete this questionnaire?

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

Hours:

Minutes:

2. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

In October 2024, questions measuring the Labour Market Indicators were added to the Labour Force Survey as a supplement.

Questionnaire flow within the collection application is controlled dynamically based on responses provided throughout the survey. Therefore, some respondents will not receive all questions, and there is a small chance that some households will not receive any questions at all. This is based on their answers to certain LFS questions.

Labour Market Indicators

ENTRY_Q01 / EQ 1 - From the following list, please select the household member that will be completing this questionnaire on behalf of the entire household.

SAT_Q01 / EQ 2 - Using a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means "Very dissatisfied" and 10 means "Very satisfied", in general, how satisfied [are/is] [you/Respondent name/this person] with [your/his/her/their] main job or business?

0. Very dissatisfied
1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  
6.  
7.  
8.  
9.  
10. Very satisfied

ACL_Q01 / EQ 3 - At [your/Respondent's name/this person’s] main job, [do/does] [you/he/she/they] have access to additional leave specifically dedicated to care responsibilities for children or adults in [your/his/her/their] family?

1. Yes
2. No

ACL_Q02 / EQ 4 - Is this leave paid?

1. Yes
2. No

CHS_Q01 / EQ 5 - Over the last month, that is since [September] 15 to today, how difficult or easy was it for your household to meet its financial needs in terms of transportation, housing, food, clothing and other necessary expenses?

Would you say:

1. Very difficult
2. Difficult
3. Neither difficult nor easy
4. Easy
5. Very easy

The balance sheet is derived, for the most part, using data already produced by the Agriculture Division. Since the capital value series uses reference data at July 1 while the balance sheet uses data at December 31, estimates for the two series are not the same. Also, the capital value series includes the personal share of assets while the balance sheet (set 2) excludes it.

In this series, data are provided only for the Balance Sheet of the Agricultural Sector (set 2). This is because set 2 most closely reflects the assets employed in the production of agricultural products. The other sets of balance sheet accounts are available on request. The four sets of aggregate balance sheets produced for Canadian agriculture are described in the attached document: Description of assets, liabilities, equity, and financial ratios.

Although not published in the capital value series, the components of farm real estate, machinery and livestock are available as a result of the estimation process used to derive the capital value and depreciation series. The business share of homes, autos and trucks are estimated using the same assumptions used in the depreciation series.

The value of assets obtained from the capital value and depreciation series represents roughly 90% of the total value of assets in the balance sheet. These estimates are considered to be of good quality. Further data quality is available by referring to the Value of farm capital (record number 3471) and Farm operating expenses and depreciation charges (record number 5214).

The other long-term assets, which include long-term investments as well as AgriInvest balances, represent roughly 1%.

The year-end value of crops, obtained from the Farm Prices Unit, represents roughly 3% of the total values of assets, and is considered to be of good quality.

The other four components of assets (cash, bonds and savings; accounts receivable; inputs; and quota) represent roughly 7% of the value of total assets. They are derived using Farm Credit Canada (FCC) survey data for the years 1980, 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1991 and the Farm Financial Survey (FFS) since 1993. In intervening years, interpolations are made.

Total liabilities are derived from the debt outstanding series of the Farm debt outstanding (record number 3472). Total debt outstanding is split between current and long-term liabilities using ratios derived from the FCC or FFS survey data. These sources are considered to be of good quality.

The personal share of long-term debt is excluded using the ratio of farm real estate excluding the personal share to farm real estate including it. It is assumed that none of the current liabilities are for personal use. These assumptions are considered reasonable.

Estimates of the balance sheet components are calculated for each province and year. Canada level estimates are derived by summing provincial estimates. Annual financial ratios are calculated separately for each province and Canada.

As the balance sheet is essentially an integrated account, incorporating data from other data series, the revision process is determined by the various sources (farm debt outstanding, farm capital value, and value added account). For a better understanding of this process, users should refer to the section of the concepts and methods of these bulletins.

Current assets are the sum of cash, bonds, and savings; accounts receivable; and inventories.

Cash, bonds, and savings estimates for sets 1 and 3 are based on FCC or FFS survey data. For sets 2 and 4, adjustments are made to exclude the personal share of farm household cash, bonds and savings. It is assumed that two-thirds of the total cash, bonds, and savings relate to the personal share of farm households. This assumption is based on U.S. farm balance sheet data. Thus, two-thirds of the estimate is deducted to exclude the personal share of farm households.

Accounts receivable estimates are based on FCC or FFS survey data. There is no adjustment between sets.

Inventory estimates are based on several sources including the Production of Poultry and Eggs survey (record number 5039) and the  Biannual Livestock Survey (record number 3460)  There are three components of inventories: poultry and market livestock; crops; and inputs. All of the value of inventories is assumed to pertain to farm businesses. Estimates for sets 2, 3 and 4 are the same as those for set 1.

The year-end value of poultry and market livestock is the sum of year-end values for poultry plus market livestock. These are derived by multiplying inventory figures by value per head data (from administrative sources). Market livestock include beef slaughter heifers, steers, calves, pigs other than boars or sows, and market lambs. The value of fur animals intended for pelting is not calculated separately as most fur animals are pelted in the fall.

The value of crops is derived by adding year-end values for wheat excluding durum, durum wheat, oats, barley, rye, corn, flaxseed, canola, soybeans, mustard seed, canary seed, sunflower seed, dry peas, chickpeas, lentils, tobacco, and potatoes. These year-end values are derived by multiplying averages of December and January prices by year-end stocks estimates.

Estimates of the value of inputs are based on FCC or FFS survey data.

Prior to 1991, the value of household contents is derived from the value of homes. Household contents are assumed to be 60% of the value of homes. This assumption is based on the structure of home insurance policy packages where coverage on contents is generally insured at 60% of the dwelling value. For each set, the value of household contents is calculated to be 60% of the corresponding value of homes. As described later, the value of homes estimate varies from set to set as adjustments are made to exclude the personal share and the portion leased from non-operator landlords.

Quota estimates for all sets are based on FCC or FFS survey data.

For all sets the year-end value of breeding livestock is the sum of year-end values for bulls, dairy cows, beef cows, dairy heifers, beef replacement heifers, boars, sows, rams, ewes, replacement lambs and breeding stock on fur farms. These are derived by multiplying inventory values by value per head data (from administrative sources). The value of animals on fur farms is derived by multiplying the number of animals on farms at year end by a value per head which is based on changes in pelt prices. Data for animals on fur farms are obtained from the Livestock Section of Agriculture Division and may include some animals which were not pelted during the normal fall pelting season.

There are three components of machinery: autos, trucks, and other machinery.

Auto and truck estimates for sets 1 and 3, as well as other machinery estimates for all sets, are derived from Agriculture Division's capital value series (included in this publication). July 1 values are averaged to estimate year-end values. For the most current year, the July 1 value is used as a proxy for the year-end value. Auto and truck estimates for sets 2 and 4 exclude the personal share of farm operator households.

There are three components of farm real estate: land, service buildings and homes. Estimates of these values for set 1 are derived from Agriculture Division's capital value of land and buildings series. July 1 values are averaged to estimate year-end values. For the most current year, the July 1 value is used as a proxy for the year-end value.

For set 2, the values of land and service buildings are the same as those in set 1. The farm business portion of homes is derived by multiplying the value of homes in set 1 by 15%. It is assumed that 15% of the farm operator's home is used for farm business purposes. This approach is consistent with that used in related series.

For set 3, the value of farm real estate owned by nonoperator landlords is excluded by multiplying estimates of land, service buildings and homes from set 1 by annual provincial ratios. These ratios are based on land tenure data from the FCC or FFS surveys.

For set 4, both the personal household share of the value of homes and the value of real estate leased from nonoperator landlords need to be excluded. Estimates of the value of land and service buildings are the same as those for set 3, but the value of homes from set 3 is multiplied by 15% to obtain the business share.

Other long-term assets include long-term investments based on the Farm Financial Survey, as well as AgriInvest balances (beginning in 2008). Prior to the end of the programs in 2007, and the subsequent closure of all the producer accounts in 2009, Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) balances and, in Québec, balances in the "Compte de stabilisation du revenu agricole" (CSRA), were also included. AgriInvest, CSRA and NISA balances are all from administrative data. This series starts in 1991.

Total assets are the sum of current assets, quota, breeding livestock, machinery, farm real estate and other long-term assets.

Current liabilities are based on Agriculture Division's total debt outstanding series. Estimates of total debt outstanding for each province are multiplied by ratios of current debt to total debt which are derived from FCC or FFS survey data. No adjustments are made.

For set 1, long-term liabilities are calculated as total debt outstanding less current liabilities. Long-term liabilities are then adjusted to exclude the portions for non-operator landlords and farm operator households.

For set 2, the value of long-term liabilities (excluding the farm household) is calculated by multiplying estimates of long-term liabilities from set 1, by the ratio of the total value of farm real estate from set 2 (which excludes households), to the total value of farm real estate including households from set 1.

For set 3, the value of long-term liabilities (excluding the non-operator landlord's share) is calculated by multiplying estimates of long-term liabilities from set 1, by the ratio of the total value of farm real estate from set 3 (which excludes the non-operator landlord's share), to the total value of farm real-estate including the non-operator landlord's share from set 1.

For set 4, the non-operator landlord's share and the personal household share of long-term liabilities are both excluded. Values of long-term liabilities from set 3 (which exclude the non-operator landlord's share), are multiplied by the ratio of the total value of farm real estate from set 4 (which excludes the farm household), to the total value of farm real estate including the farm households from set 3.

Total liabilities are the sum of current and long term liabilities.

Equity equals total assets less total liabilities.

The balance sheet is used to derive all of the liquidity and solvency ratios.

To calculate the profitability and financial efficiency ratios, the balance sheet and the value added account are both used.

The current ratio (CA/CL) is calculated as current assets (CA) divided by current liabilities (CL).

The acid-test (quick) ratio [(C+AR)/CL] is cash and marketable securities plus accounts receivable, divided by current liabilities. To calculate this ratio, the value of cash, bonds and savings (C) is used as a proxy for cash plus marketable securities. The acid-test ratio is calculated as cash, bonds and savings (C) plus accounts receivable (AR), divided by current liabilities (CL).

The debt structure ratio (CL/TL) is the current liabilities (CL) divided by total liabilities (TL).

The leverage ratio (TL/E) is calculated as total liabilities (TL) divided by equity (E).

The equity ratio (E/TA) equals equity (E) divided by total assets (TA).

The debt ratio (TL/TA) is calculated as total liabilities (TL) divided by total assets (TA).

The capital turnover ratio (R/TA) is calculated as revenue divided by total assets. For our purposes, revenue (R) is derived from the value added account by summing: sales of agricultural products, sales of non-agricultural products, and other sources of the value of production. The value used for total assets (TA) is the value of total assets at the beginning of the period in which revenues were earned (i.e. the value of total assets at December 31 of the previous year).

Return on assets equals net income before taxes (NIBT) plus interest (I) expense divided by average total assets (ATA). For set 1, net income before taxes plus interest expense is derived from the value added series by adding rent to non-operators, corporate profits, wages to family, unincorporated operator returns and interest. For sets 2 and 4, wages to family are not included. Rent to nonoperators is not included for sets 3 and 4. Average total assets (ATA) are calculated as the average of total assets at the beginning and end of the year. Thus, return on assets is calculated as [(NIBT+I)/ATA].

Return on equity consists of net income divided by average equity. Because of the difficulty involved in separating the value of income taxes attributable to farm income from that attributable to non-farm income, income tax expense cannot be estimated for the agricultural sector. Thus, net income after taxes cannot be estimated for the agricultural sector, so net income before taxes (NIBT) is used a proxy for net income. For set 1, net income before taxes is derived from the value added series by adding rent to non-operators, corporate profits, wages to family, and unincorporated operator returns. For sets 2 and 4, wages to family are not included. Rent to nonoperators is not included for sets 3 and 4. Average equity (AE) is calculated as the average of equity at the beginning and end of the year. Thus, return on equity is calculated as (NIBT/AE).

The interest coverage ratio [(NIBT+I)/I] is defined as net income before taxes plus interest expense, divided by interest expense. The method for deriving the numerator (NIBT+I) is described in the earlier paragraph on the return on assets. The denominator (interest expense) is also from the value added account.