The 2021 Census of Agriculture in detail

Changes, additions or deletions from the 2016 questionnaire by topic in the order they appear on the 2021 questionnaire.

General stylistic changes prevalent throughout the questionnaire:

The questionnaire was optimized for respondents to efficiently fill out on-line.
The questionnaire is now organized in modules to facilitate the identification of relevant sections of the questionnaire for every respective respondent.
Key words which were previously capitalized for emphasis are now bolded and lower-case.
Questions are now re-formulated into an interrogative structure rather than an imperative one.
Most answer fields are no longer in grid format (for each letter) and completely blank.
"Total" questions were previously worded in a manner that explicitly instructed respondents how to calculate the answer given values provided to previous questions (e.g., TOTAL of questions 10 to 14). They now incorporate a contextual description of the components of the given "total" (e.g., the Total land question reads: "Total land area owned, leased, rented, crop-shared or used").
Instructions to "fill in all applicable circles" were changed to "Select all that apply".

Business or organization and contact information

This module requests information previously asked in Step 1 in 2016, with some revisions in wording:
- "Farm name" and "Corporation name" changed to "Operating name" and "Legal name", respectively.
- "Family name" and "Given name and initial(s)" have been replaced by "Last name" and "First name", respectively.
Question 2 now asks for the contact information of the designated contact person who should receive the questionnaire, as opposed to the contact information of the person completing the questionnaire, as requested in 2016. It also newly requests the contact person's preferred language of communication.
In Question 3, respondents are newly requested to indicate the current operational status of their business or organization.
An alternate phone number is no longer requested.

Agricultural activity

The Agricultural activity module was a new addition to the 2021 questionnaire, and is meant for respondents to indicate whether the operation fits under Statistics Canada's farm definition. It inquires whether the operation produces agricultural products, and whether the operator will be reporting sales or expenses for said products to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The module consists of the following:
Will this operation produce agricultural products in 2021?
Examples of agricultural products include: field crops, vegetables, fruit, livestock, horses, poultry, meat, milk, eggs, maple products, honey, wool, ornamental plants, sod, Christmas trees, greenhouse products, mushrooms.
- Yes
  - Will this operation be reporting sales or expenses for these agricultural products to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)?
    Include sales and expenses from:
    - agricultural products grown or raised by this operation in 2021 (e.g., field crops, vegetables, fruit, livestock, horses, poultry, meat, milk, eggs, maple products, honey, wool, ornamental plants, sod, Christmas trees, greenhouse products, mushrooms)
    - other commodities produced using agricultural products grown or raised by this operation in 2021 (e.g., wine, meat products).
      - Yes
      - No
- No

Canada Revenue Agency Business Numbers

This module consists of part of the former Step 1 of the 2016 questionnaire. There are two questions: Question 1 asks whether the operation has a Business Number issued by the CRA, and to provide it if yes. Question 2 is a new addition, and asks respondents who operate or own other agricultural businesses to list the legal or operating name and associated Business Numbers of said other businesses.

Agricultural operators

Formerly Step 2.
Some wording changes were applied to questions 5 and 6 for greater detail and specificity, with the precision of weekly average time contributions in lieu of average time contributions, and examples for what is to be included and excluded in the categories of "Farm work" and "Other work".

Paid labour

Formerly Step 32.
The concept of paid labour has changed from employees who were paid any wages or salaries to agricultural workers to whom the operation issued any T4 slips for the 2020 tax year.
Descriptions of who should be counted under agricultural workers and family workers were added to the 2021 module.
A yes/no component was added to the question 9 about family workers.

Main farm location

Formerly Step 8.
Questions 7 and 8 from the 2016 questionnaire have been amalgamated into this module. Province is now asked to be reported as part of the land description farms situated in British Columbia and the Prairie provinces.
A definition of the main farm location was added to the 2021 questionnaire: "This is where the main agricultural activities take place. It can be the farm headquarters, main farm buildings, or main gate."

Unit of measure

Formerly Step 4.
Instruction text to "use the chosen unit to report all areas throughout the questionnaire unless otherwise specified" is no longer in the question.
No other content changes.

Area of land

Formerly Step 5.
Include text for workable land is now all encompassing with the addition of maple trees tapped. The explanation of non-workable land was slightly stream-lined and is no longer in bullet-point form.
Under total workable and non-workable land, respondents are explicitly instructed to include land that they own even if it is operated or used by others.
An explanation of crop-sharing was added to the question: "Note: Crop-sharing is an agreement in which the operator shares investment and risk with the land owner".
The Total area label was changed from "TOTAL of questions 10 to 14" to "Total land area owned, leased, rented, crop-shared or used" to allow for more meaning in interpretation.

Agricultural production

This module is a new addition to the 2021 questionnaire and replaces the Yes/No component to commodity steps in the 2016 questionnaire for all types of agricultural products reported on the census, and added a Yes/No component to the Farm vehicles, machinery and equipment question. The set of filter questions are generally structured in the following manner with some variation depending on the subject of the question: "In 2021, are any [insert agricultural products] grown on this operation for sale?" with a brief explanation of what is included/excluded in the definition of the commodity/topic. In order of the questions in the module, these products or topics are:
- Mushrooms
- Maple trees tapped
- Sod, nursery products and Christmas trees
- Agricultural products grown in a greenhouse
- Fruits, berries and nuts
- Field vegetables
- Field crops and hay
- Honey bees and other pollinating bees
- Poultry
- Chickens and turkeys
- Table eggs and hatching eggs
- Commercial poultry hatchery
- Livestock
- Organic products
- Farm vehicles, machinery and equipment
The addition of this module is meant to identify more efficiently which parts of the questionnaire respondents should answer, and thus reduce completion time and respondent burden.

Hay and field crops

Formerly Step 6
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
The Hay or Field Crops module now specifies the reference year 2021 for which this commodity should be reported. More precise instructions are given to respondents in the case where two or more crops will be harvested from the same land: to report each crop and to split the area between each in lieu of instructions to report the areas only once.
In the Include text, Field crops and hay to be harvested, and green manure are separated into two bullet points, in order to facilitate easier comprehension.
The Exclude text now includes summerfallow, pasture, woodlands and other lands. The instruction to exclude land used by others was taken out.
Respondents are now advised to report smaller land areas using decimals, and are given an example of converting an area from fraction form to decimal form.
An explanation of "Mixed Grains" was added to that category of field crops. Instructions to exclude certain varieties of a crop are more explicitly stated, in lieu of solely instructing respondents on where to report other varieties.
The following modifications were made to the 2021 hay and field crops categories:
- New categories were created for faba beans and hemp.
- Desi and kabuli bean varieties were added to the Include text for chickpeas.
- The varieties of timothy, ryegrass and orchard grass were added to the Include text for "all other tame hay and fodder crops for hay and silage".
- The replacement of "standard varieties" to "sunola varieties" for the "sunflower seeds" category.
- An Include text for canary seeds specifying the inclusion of hairless (canario) varieties.
- Precision of total seeded and harvested area to be reported for ginseng.
- The removal of caraway seeds, hemp, and other spices, and the addition of quinoa to the examples of "Other field crops".

Field vegetables

Formerly Step 7.
The name of the module was changed from "Vegetables" to "Field vegetables" to distinguish greenhouse vegetables from field-grown vegetables.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
Instructions were added for how to report in the cases of double-cropping or inter-cropping.
The split fraction format of the area fields was changed to single answer boxes.
Explicit Exclude text for certain varieties have been added on top of instructions on where to report these varieties, in order to prevent misreporting and double-reporting of areas.
The following modifications were made to the 2021 field vegetables categories:
- The addition of Include text for Chinese cabbage, specifying that areas of bok choy and napa be reported in the field.
- Due to increased prominence of these vegetables, new stand-alone categories have been created for garlic, kale and rhubarb, which respondents were previously instructed to report in "Other field vegetables".
- Sweet potatoes were added to the list of examples listed for "Other field vegetables".

Fruits, berries and nuts

Formerly Step 8.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
Include text was added to inform respondents that fruits and berries used to produce wine, and all producing and non-producing vines, bushes and trees should be reported in this module.
The following modifications were made to the 2021 fruits, berries and nuts categories:
- "Blackcurrants, redcurrants and whitecurrants" and haskaps have moved from the "Other fruits, berries or nuts" category to stand-alone ones.
- Blueberries were split into two categories: high bush and low bush, with an added specification for lowbush blueberries ("Include wild blueberries grown on managed land").
- Include text has been added to the categories of Sour cherries, Sweet cherries, peaches and low bush blueberries.
- Walnuts and gooseberries were added as examples for "Other fruits, berries or nuts".
- Instruction text to "specify" the other fruits, berries or nuts was taken out, the spatial re-organization of the answering field made the correct reporting of names and areas for this category more intuitive to respondents.

Sod, nursery products and Christmas trees

Formerly Step 9.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
The reference year for which respondents are reporting their commodities is now included the question. Include/Exclude text was ensure accurate reporting in this module.
No other content changes.

Land use

Formerly Step 10.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
The module has been re-formatted so that the Net Area total is only asked for once at the end of the module, meaning that question 89 of Step 10 in the 2016 questionnaire was removed.
The question corresponding to cropland area was reworded for concision.
Sugarbush has been moved from the examples listed for "Woodlands and wetlands" to the title of the category, so that the 2021 category reads: "Woodland, sugarbush and wetlands".
Under "Natural land for pasture", shared land where livestock graze based on a permit or licence was added to the Include text.
Farm buildings was bolded for emphasis in the example list under "All other land".

Summerfallow

Formerly Step 11.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
Some wording changes were applied so that the question no longer directly references the summerfallow reported in the module above, under the assumption that it is already reasonably assumed given the placement and vocabulary in the question. The Exclude text was slightly revised for concision.

Tillage and seeding practices

Formerly Step 12.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
The question has been slightly re-formatted for easier comprehension and now incorporates the reference year.

Land practices and features

Formerly Step 13.
This module re-formatted the content in Step 13 of the 2016 questionnaire by separating the previous list of land practices and features into 2 larger questions containing sub-components:
- One for land practices with sub-questions inquiring into:
  - In-field winter grazing or feeding
  - Rotational grazing
  - Plowing down green crops
  - Planting winter cover crops
- One for land features including shelterbelts or windbreaks
The wording of the questions has been modified for improved concision.
No other content changes.

Crop residue

Formerly Step 14.
Option to report no crop residue was added to the module, while the 2016 Step only provided an answer field for area from which crop residue was baled the previous year.
No other content changes.

Inputs or manure

This module combines Steps 15 and 16 of the 2016 questionnaire. The module now asks: "In 2020, did this agricultural operation use any inputs or manure?" For those who answer yes, they are asked to provide the areas on which various inputs or manure were used.
Treated seed is now included as an input.
Examples for Trace minerals and nutrients were removed.
An instruction to exclude manure spread by livestock was added in the manure question.
The spatial layout of the module was re-organized since 2016 to streamline reporting.

Irrigation

Formerly Step 17.
The drip method of irrigation was taken out of the examples of irrigation methods.
The question was slightly re-formatted, with the Yes option and its corresponding irrigated area field coming before the No option.

Mushrooms

Formerly Step 20.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
This module was considerably expanded in order to align with the format of other agricultural surveys which collect similar information.
The module now collects information on Agaricus mushrooms and specialty mushrooms separately. Agaricus mushroom production is reported in square feet and square meters. For specialty mushrooms, the questionnaire first asks for the type of production system used for specialty mushrooms:
- Bags
- Natural wood logs
- Other (e.g., beds, shelves, trays)

For bags and natural wood log systems, the number of each (bags and wood logs) as well as the dimensions of the bag and natural wood log systems are collected, in either feet or meters. Respondents are instructed to estimate the average dimensions if dimensions vary across bags or natural wood logs.

For other production systems, the total growing area of specialty mushrooms is collected in square feet or square meters.

Greenhouses

Formerly Step 19.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
This module was considerably expanded in order to align with the format of other Greenhouse, Sod and Nursery Survey which collects similar information. Include/Exclude text was added to provide a more detailed description of which products should be reported in the module, in particular, controlled environments which encapsulate more than greenhouses. Accordingly, the Exclude text was modified to instruct respondents not to report areas and structures used for storage to account eggplants for any misunderstandings of the "controlled environment" concept. The Exclude text in 2021 also specifically instructs respondents not to report tree seedlings grown solely for reforestation, instead of the more general instruction in 2016 to report sod, nursery and Christmas trees elsewhere in the questionnaire.
Data on greenhouse products are more extensively collected, with respondents being asked to report areas for the following:
- Greenhouse fruits and vegetables
  - Greenhouse tomatoes
  - Greenhouse cucumbers
  - Greenhouse peppers
  - Greenhouse herbs
  - Other greenhouse fruits and vegetables
- Cut flowers
- Potted plants—indoor or outdoor
- Other products grown in a greenhouse
Descriptive examples of products to include in the above categories were added:
- For "Other greenhouse fruits and vegetables":
  - e.g., lettuce, strawberries, sprouts, microgreens, shoots, eggplants
- For "Potted plants—indoor or outdoor":
  - e.g., potted flowers, potted herbs, potted vegetable plants
- For "Other products grown in a greenhouse":
  - e.g., ornamental tree seedlings, cuttings, bedding plants, transplants or plugs

Maple tree taps

Formerly Step 21.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
The question is slightly re-formulated. The reference period has been changed to the spring of the reference year instead of solely the reference year. Include/Exclude text has been added to prevent misreporting of tree taps made on other trees than maple, as well as maple products that are not for sale.

Bees

Formerly Step 22.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
Directions to exclude honey production for home or personal use were added.
No other content changes.

Poultry

Formerly Step 24.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
"Broiler, roaster and Cornish breeders (pullets and hens)" moved from the "Layer and broiler breeders" under "Chickens for eggs" to their own subcategory under "Chickens for meat".
Turkeys, ducks and geese have moved from the "Other poultry" category to separate ones.
Roosters, guinea fowl, peacocks and partridges were added to the examples of "Other poultry."
No other content changes.

Chicken and turkey production

Formerly Step 25.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
This module has been re-formatted so that respondents can report chickens and turkeys using different units of measure.
Include/Exclude text has been incorporated, respondents are newly instructed to exclude chickens or turkeys for personal use.
The reference year has been added to elements of the module for further emphasis of reporting production within the given timeframe.
No other content changes.

Eggs

Formerly Step 26.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
Directions to exclude eggs for personal use have been added. The format of the question has been slightly revised to be more succinct.

Commercial poultry hatcheries

Formerly Step 27.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
The term "commercial poultry hatcheries" was taken out of the question, which has been reformulated instead to: "In 2020, how many chicks or other poultry were hatched?"
Include text has been added to specifies that only hatcheries registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and that all types of poultry hatched in 2020 are to be reported in this module.

Livestock

Formerly Step 28.
"If applicable" was added in parentheses to the module title to direct respondents for which this category is irrelevant to skip the module.
Instructions on what and what not to report in the 2016 step were reorganized into Include/Exclude text, the contents of which have remained consistent between both questionnaires.
No changes in the cattle categories.
In pigs, the previous "Boars" category was narrowed to "Boars kept for breeding" and placed below "Sows and gilts kept for breeding". The "Nursing pigs" category was re-named "Suckling pigs, less than 15 lb (7 kg)", and "Weaner pigs" to "Weanling, nursery or starter pigs, 15 to 49 lb (7 to 22 kg)", "Grower and finishing pigs" to "Market pigs, 50 lb (23 kg) and over".
For the "Rams" category, the text now specifies that the reported lambs must be "1 year or over" in age.
In "Other livestock", Donkeys and Mules now constitute a separate category instead of being designated to the "Other livestock" subcategory.

Technologies

Formerly Step 23.
This question has been reformatted such that respondents answer Yes/No for every listed technology instead of filling in bubbles for the applicable listed technologies.
The following categories have been deleted/added from the 2016 step:
- Deletions:
  - Computers/laptops for farm management
  - Smartphones/tablets for farm management
  - GPS technology
  - Automated environmental controls for animal housing
  - Automated animal feeding
- Additions:
  - Variable-rate input application
  - Drones
  - Soil sample test
  - Slow-release fertilizer
The following changes have been applied to categories below:
- Automated steering (auto-steer) has been expanded into Automated guidance steering systems (auto-steer) on farm equipment.
- GIS mapping is now spelled out in full with the abbreviation in parentheses. The list of examples has grown to include soil quality mapping, yield mapping and NDVI mapping.
- Greenhouse automation has been renamed to Robotic greenhouse equipment.
- Robotic milking has been renamed to Fully-robotic milking, with the specification: "i.e., no manual intervention required" added below.

Renewable energy

Formerly Step 36.
A definition of renewable energy was added under the question.
The "include" instruction replaces "systems that produce energy" with "renewable energy produced". Instructions were added to exclude petroleum (gas or diesel) and coal products.
The wording of the categories were modified to be more broad and encompassing:
- "Wind Turbines" to "Wind"
- "Solar panels" to "Solar", with a list of examples of systems underneath
- "Bioenergy", which includes "Anaerobic biodigester (biogas or methane)" and "Biodiesel production systems" 2016 categories, was formed with the following subcategories:
  - Biomass combustion, e.g., straw, wood, wood pellets, perennial grasses
  - Biomethane, e.g., renewable natural gas
  - Other biogas, e.g., gasification
    - Exclude biomethane.
  - Biofuel, e.g., biodiesel, bioethanol
- "Geothermal electric power" to "Geothermal", with a list of examples of energy systems following.
There was a new question added to this module which requests respondents to identify the purpose of the renewable energy produced on a given operation. The two options are:
- For use on this operation
  - e.g., using solar energy to heat livestock buildings or biomass heating for greenhouses
- For sale
  - e.g., selling electricity onto the grid

Market value

Formerly Step 29.
Include/exclude directions have been edited for concision and readability.
The headings for the answer fields have been changed from "Present market value (dollars only)" to "Present market value rounded to the nearest CAN$"

Farm vehicles, machinery and equipment

Formerly Step 30.
The previous instruction to "Report fixed machinery in Step 29" was changed to "Exclude fixed (i.e., immobile) equipment (the value of which was reported in the previous question)" to better prevent double-reporting of fixed machinery.
The example calculation was described in more detail in the 2021 module.
The respective headings for the answer fields: "Number owned and leased" and "Present market value (owned and leased) (dollars only)" to "Number of farm vehicles, machinery and equipment owned and leased" to "Present market value rounded to the nearest CAN$"
In the Tractors category, the "Over 149 p.t.o. hp" has been split into the two categories "150 to 249 p.t.o. hp" and "Over 249 p.t.o. hp" to accommodate increased intensity of machinery use in the farming business over the years.
No other major content changes.

Gross farm receipts and operating expenses

Formerly Step 31.
The Include text now lists program and insurance payments, and custom work receipts as two separate bullet points.
The question has been re-worded, mentioning the exclusion of purchases of commodities resold and any expenses from non-farming activities directly in the wording of the question as well as in the Include/Exclude instructions.
Inventory adjustment has been added to the list of expenses to exclude.

Direct marketing

Formerly Step 33.
Respondents are instructed to "Include sales directly at a market or on farm"
In the instruction, a further clarification "to intermediaries such as marketers and wholesales" has been added in parentheses, to the instruction to exclude sales of any goods purchased for resale. Respondents are now asked to exclude sales directly to a store (to intermediaries such as retail and grocery stores, restaurants and bakeries).
Cider and pies have been added as examples of Value added products.
On-site farm stores have been added to the prior category: "Farm gate sales, stands, kiosks, U-pick" and food baskets to the category of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA)
The following new categories have been created:
- Off-site farm stores or stands
- Direct deliveries to consumers
The instruction to "Specify Other Methods" has been added under the "Other Methods" category
The following new question has been added to the module:
- In 2020, what percentage of the total gross farm receipts was from the sale of agricultural products directly to consumers for human consumption?
- Exclude:
  - sales of any goods purchased for resale (to intermediaries such as marketers and wholesalers)
  - sales directly to a store (to intermediaries such as retail and grocery stores, restaurants and bakeries).
    - Percentage [Answer field] %

Succession plan

Formerly Step 35.
The definition given within the module was slightly modified between 2016 and 2021. In 2016, a succession plan was described as a "formalized plan that ensures the future continuity". This was replaced by "A written succession plan, also referred to as a transition plan, is a formalized plan and agreement that details the orderly transfer of the farm business from the current owners and operators to the future owners and operators of the farm business". The three elements remained consistent and are now listed in bullet-point form following the definition. The subsequent distinction was also added: "A will is not a written succession plan, unless it includes the three main elements noted above".
Under the "No, a written succession plan is not in place" category, the following response options allow respondents to indicate the existence of informal arrangements or discussion of succession plans:
- "A succession plan has been discussed but has not been formalized in a written agreement"
- "No succession plan has been discussed as of May 11, 2021"
No other content changes

Contact person

This module is new. It now gives respondents the option of providing the information of the best person to contact for questionnaire follow-up, who is not the respondent himself. This module was designed to streamline the follow up process, and is structured the following way:
- Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.
  Is the contact person provided on the cover page the best person to contact?
  - Yes – Go to "Comments" section
  - No
    - Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?
    - First name
    - Last name
    - Title
    - Email address
      Example: user@example.gov.ca
    - Telephone number (including area code) Extension number
      Example: 123-123-1234 (if applicable)
    - Fax number (including area code)
      Example: 123-123-1234

Comments

There is now a full page dedicated to comments by respondents, while in 2016, the comments section was limited to three lines on the back page of the questionnaire. The instruction on this page reads: "We invite your comments about this questionnaire."

Back page

No content changes other than the removal of the Comments section, which as indicated above, now has its own separate page.