Census of Agriculture, 2007
United States Virgin Islands, 2007
Identification
VIR_2007_CA_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS
Census of Agriculture, 2007
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| United States Virgin Islands | VIR |
Agricultural Census [ag/census]
The "United States Virgin Islands" is one of the collectively referred "U.S. Outlying Areas". For statistical purposes, it is recorded as a separate entity in the World Census of Agriculture Database (in the Americas Region). Consequently, results related to the United States of America bear only upon the continental territory of the country.
The first Census of Agriculture (CA) was conducted in the United States Virgin Islands (U.S. Virgin Islands) in 1920 and the second in 1930, in conjunction with the first decennial World Agricultural Census. Other censuses were conducted at a ten-year interval through 1960 when, starting with the census taken in 1964, the U.S. Virgin Islands were included in the quinquennial (five-year) Agricultural Census Plan. Successively, the dates were adjusted in order to coincide with economic censuses and, consequently, the subsequent agricultural censuses were conducted in 1978 and 1982. After 1982, agricultural censuses were reverted to a five-year cycle. The CA 2007, to which metadata and data here refer, is the fourteenth agricultural census to be undertaken in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For more than 150 years, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, conducted the census of agriculture. However, the 2002 Appropriations Act transferred the responsibility from the Bureau of the Census to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The 2007 Census of Agriculture for the U.S. Virgin Islands is the second census in the U.S. Virgin Islands conducted by NASS. The census of agriculture is taken to obtain agricultural statistics for each county, State (including territories and protectorates), and the Nation. The first U.S. agricultural census data were collected in 1840 as a part of the sixth decennial census. From 1840 to 1920, an agricultural census was taken as a part of each decennial census. Since 1920, a separate national agricultural census has been taken every 5 years. The 2007 census is the 14th census of agriculture of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first, taken in 1920, was a special census authorized by the Secretary of Commerce. The next agriculture census was taken in 1930 in conjunction with the decennial census, a practice that continued every 10 years through 1960. The 1964 Census of Agriculture was the first quinquennial (5-year) census to be taken in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1976, Congress authorized the census of agriculture to be taken for 1978 and 1982 to adjust the data-reference year to coincide with the 1982 Economic Censuses covering manufacturing, mining, construction, retail trade, wholesale trade, service industries, and selected transportation activities. After 1982, the agriculture census reverted to a 5-year cycle. Data in this publication are for the calendar year 2007, and inventory data reflect what was on hand on December 31, 2007. This is the same reference period used in the 2002 census. Prior to the 2002 census, data was collected in the summer for the previous 12 months, with inventory items counted as what was on hand as of July 1 of the year the data collection was done.
Objectives:
The census of agriculture is the leading source of statistics about the U.S. Virgin Islands’s agricultural production and the only source of consistent, comparable data at the island level. Census statistics are used to measure agricultural production and to identify trends in an ever changing agricultural sector. Many local programs use census data as a benchmark for designing and evaluating surveys. Private industry uses census statistics to provide a more effective production and distribution system for the agricultural community.
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Households
Scope
The scope of the study includes agriculture (including forestry), livestock, sources of income, infrastructure and organization affiliation.
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Agriculture & Rural Development | FAO |
| Forests & Forestry | FAO |
| Land (policy, resource management) | FAO |
| Livestock | FAO |
| Labor | FAO |
Coverage
National coverage
The statistical unit was a farm, defined as "any place from which USD 500 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would had been sold, during the calendar year 2007". According to the census definition, a farm is essentially an operating unit, not an ownership tract. All land operated or managed by one person or partnership represents one farm. In the case of tenants, the land assigned to each tenant is considered a separate farm, even though the landlord may consider the entire landholding to be one unit rather than several separate units.
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| United States Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Statistical Service (USDA/NASS) |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture | Technical assistance |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| United States Federal budget | Funding |
Sampling
(a) Method of Enumeration
As in the previous censuses of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a direct enumeration procedure was used in the 2007 Census of Agriculture. Enumeration was based on a list of farm operators compiled by the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture. This list was compiled with the help of the USDA Farm Services Agency located in St. Croix. The statistics in this report were collected from farm operators beginning in January of 2003. Each enumerator was assigned a list of individuals or farm operations from a master enumeration list. The enumerators contacted persons or operations on their list and completed a census report form for all farm operations. If the person on the list was not operating a farm, the enumerator recorded whether the land had been sold or rented to someone else and was still being used for agriculture. If land was sold or rented out, the enumerator got the name of the new operator and contacted that person to ensure that he or she was included in the census.
(b) Frame
The census frame consisted of a list of farm operators compiled by the U.S. Virgin Islands DA. This list was compiled with the help of the USDA Farm Services Agency, located in St. Croix.
(c) Complete and/or sample enumeration methods
The census was a complete enumeration of all farm operators registered in the list compiled by the United States of America in the CA 2007.
Survey instrument
The questionnaire (report form) for the CA 2007 was prepared by NASS, in cooperation with the DA of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Only one questionnaire was used for data collection covering topics on:
- Land owned
- Land use
- Irrigation
- Conservation programs and crop insurance
- Field crops
- Bananas, coffee, pineapples and plantain crops
- Hay and forage crops
- Nursery, Greenhouse, Floriculture, Sod and tree seedlings
- Vegetables and melons
- Hydroponic crops
- Fruit
- Root crops
- Cattle and calves
- Poultry
- Hogs and pigs
- Aquaculture
- Other animals and livestock products
- Value of sales
- Organic agriculture
- Federal and commonwealth agricultural program payments
- Income from farm-related sources
- Production expenses
- Farm labour
- Fertilizer and chemicals applied
- Market value of land and buildings
- Machinery, equipment and buildings
- Practices
- Type of organization
- Operator characteristics
The questionnaire of the 2007 CA covered 12 of the 16 core items' recommended for the WCA 2010 round.
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2007-01 | 2007-07 |
Inventories of livestock, poultry, and machinery and equipment are the number on hand as of December 31, 2007. Crop production, crop and livestock sales, and expense data are for the calendar year 2007.
- Face-to-face [f2f]
Data processing
DATA PROCESSING
The processing of the 2007 Census of Agriculture for the U.S. Virgin Islands was done in St. Croix. Each report form was reviewed and coded prior to data keying. Report forms not meeting the census farm definition were voided. The remaining report forms were examined for clarity and completeness. Reporting errors in units of measures, illegible entries, and misplaced entries were corrected. After all the report forms had been reviewed and coded, the data were keyed and subjected to a thorough computer edit. The edit performed comprehensive checks for consistency and reasonableness, corrected erroneous or inconsistent data, supplied missing data based on similar farms, and assigned farm classification codes necessary for tabulating the data. All substantial changes to the data generated by the computer edits were reviewed and verified by analysts. Inconsistencies identified, but not corrected by the computer, were reviewed, corrected, and keyed to a correction file. The corrected data were then tabulated by the computer and reviewed by analysts. Prior to publication, tabulated totals were reviewed by analysts to identify inconsistencies and potential coverage problems. Comparisons were made with previous census data, as well as other available data. The computer system provided the capability to review up-to-date tallies of all selected data items for various sets of criteria which included, but were not limited to, geographic levels, farm types, and sales levels. Data were examined for each set of criteria and any inconsistencies or potential problems were then researched by examining individual data records contributing to the tabulated total. W hen necessary, data inconsistencies were resolved by making corrections to individual data records.
Data appraisal
The accuracy of these tabulated data is determined by the joint effects of the various nonsampling errors. No direct measures of these effects have been obtained; however, precautionary steps were taken in all phases of data collection, processing, and tabulation of the data in an effort to minimize the effects of nonsampling errors.
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | See https://www.ocio.usda.gov/privacy-office |
CONTACT
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),
National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS)
Census and Survey Division
Address: 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250.
Telephone: (+1) 800 7279540
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses
Contacts
| Name | URL | |
|---|---|---|
| United States Department of Agriculture | [email protected] or https://ask.usda.gov/s/ | http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/index.php |
Metadata production
DDI_VIR_2007_CA_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_FAO
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Office of chief Statistician | Food and Agriculture Organization | Adoption of metadata for FAM |
| Census team, Statistics Division | Food and Agriculture Organization | Metadata producer |
Metadata version
VIR_2007_CA_v01_EN_M_v01_A_OCS_v01