Big ag census coming to an end
Farmers, foresters and orchardists have just a few days left to complete the official agricultural production census, run by Statistics NZ in partnership with MPI.
It is offering online participation both for the first time and as the first option for the 30,000 farmers it will survey. Farmers asked to participate will then have the option of asking for a paper survey if they prefer. Previously only a paper survey was posted out.
Statistics NZ will hope to equal or better its usual return rate of 85-90% of those asked to participate when the survey goes out in mid-July. It says it knows a high proportion of farmers are digitally connected because its own figures show that 75% of rural households have internet access compared to 77% in urban areas.
Neil Kelly, Statistics NZ manager business indicators, says a survey goes to about 30,000 farmers in four years out of five, and in the fifth year a census goes to every farmer, about 70,000. The questions cover agricultural production information – livestock numbers, tonnes of arable products, areas of land use and a little on farm practices such as fertiliser use.
“Because it is a detailed form and we know farmers are busy people we’ve gone to the internet option,” Kelly explains. “What we will do for most farmers in the first instance is send them out an information sheet which basically tells them they have been selected, gives a link to fill out the survey online, and which gives them a code they can use to log in for the first time which briefly explains what to do.
“Most won’t be sent a paper form but there is instruction how to request a paper form if they want it. They can either call an 0800 number or email an address we have set up. Most of them won’t be getting the paper form in the first instance.
“We are hoping this will make it easier for farmers, that they will find it quicker and simpler and that most of them will take it up. We are hoping the take-up will be good, just as it was for the census.”
Usually 85-90% of farmers respond. “It is a really good response rate and we’re grateful to farmers for that.”
The information is used by the Ministry for Primary Industries for planning, he says. “It helps them understand the health of the agricultural sector and where the pressure points are. It is used to track the performance of the industry so they know which industries are doing well and which parts aren’t. The Ministry for the Environment also uses it for reporting greenhouse gas emissions and so on.”
The survey can show long term and wider trends. “The survey in recent years has shown the dominance of dairy; it has shown dairy becoming very strong and the number of dairy cattle increasing year on year,” says Kelly.
The number of sheep in New Zealand has dipped below 30 million for the first time since 1935. “We have seen dairy growing very, very strong, we have seen beef cattle more or less flat but we’ve seen sheep numbers tail off because of conversions from sheep to dairy. Those are the kind of long term insights you can get out of the survey.”
The same questions are not used every time because every year they go through a review process with Statistics NZ customers because needs change over time, he says. In an annual process they go back to MPI and other main customers and ask them about the main topics of interest this time.
“In recent years we have seen more interest in farm practices than farm production: understanding what the farmers do rather than what they produce. That is the thing that has changed over time – things like fertiliser use and nutrient use, management of water runoff, etc.”
A comprehensive review of the ag survey will begin soon and the survey may change considerably. Results of that review will be seen in next year’s survey.
The survey includes livestock and arable every year and every second year it includes horticulture such as kiwifruit, apples and grapes.
Rural Stats
Statistics NZ analysis of figures from the 2001 and 2013 censuses showed:
• Rural NZ householders’ access to the internet more than doubled between 2001 and 2013, from 35% to 75%.
• Rural people are keeping pace with city dwellers. 75% of rural households have internet access vs 77% in urban areas.
• 81% of rural households have cellphone access vs 84% in urban areas.
• Very few rural households have no access to telecommunications – 2% in 2013 vs 4.3% in 2001.
• Fax is dwindling – 37% of rural households had access in 2001 vs 24% in 2013.
