APPENDIX EXPLANATION OF TERMS FARMS Since 1850, when minimum criteria defining a farm for census purposes first were established, the farm definition has been changed nine times. The current definition, first used for the 1974 census, is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. FARMS BY VALUE OF SALES Farms by value of sales represents the gross market value before taxes and production expenditures of all agricultural products sold or removed from the place in 1992 regardless of who received or shared in the payment. It includes receipts by the operator as well as the value of any shares received by partners, landlords, contractors, and others associated with the place. This report uses the following value of sales classifications: $500,000 or more $250,000 to $499,999 $100,000 to $249,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $25,000 to $49,999 $10,000 to $24,999 $5,000 to $9,999 $2,500 to $4,999 Less than $2,500 Places having less than the minimum $1,000 sales in the census year were counted as farms if they could normally be expected to produce agricultural products in sufficient quantity to meet the requirements of the definition. FARMS BY SIZE All farms were classified into selected size groups according to the total land area in the farm. The land area of a farm is an operating unit concept and includes land owned and operated as well as land rented from others. Land rented to or assigned to a tenant was considered the tenant's farm and not the owner's. Size of farm measured only by acres operated is often not a complete measure of the size of the farm business due to large variations in the productivity of land or in the intensity of activity. For example, average value of farm products sold per acre of farmland can vary from such extremes as $3,784 per acre in Suffolk County, NY, to $16 or less per acre in Elko County, NV. MARKET VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS SOLD This category represents the gross market value before taxes and production expenses of all agricultural products sold or removed from the place in 1992, regardless of who received the payment. It includes sales by the operator as well as the value of any shares received by partners, landlords, contractors, or others associated with the operation. In addition, it includes receipts from placing commodities in the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan program in 1992. It does not include payments received for participation in federal farm programs nor does it include income from farm-related sources such as customwork and other agricultural services, or income from nonfarm sources. The value of crops sold in 1992 does not necessarily represent the sales from crops harvested in 1992. Data may include sales from crops produced in earlier years and exclude some crops produced in 1992, but held in storage and not sold. For commodities, such as sugar beets and wool, sold through a co-op which made payments in several installments, respondents were requested to report the total value received in 1992. The value of agricultural products sold was requested of all operators. If the operator failed to report this information, estimates were made based on the amount of crops harvested, livestock or poultry inventory, or number sold. Extensive estimation was required for operators growing crops or livestock under contract. Caution should be used when comparing sales in 1992 with sales reported in earlier censuses. Sales figures are expressed in current dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation or deflation. FARM-RELATED INCOME AND DIRECT SALES FEDERAL FARM PROGRAMS Payments from participation in federal farm programs are limited to direct cash payments received by the farm operator in 1992. Included are deficiency and diversion payments; wool payments; payments from the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs, other conservation programs, and all other federal farm programs under which payments were made directly to farm operators. VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS SOLD DIRECTLY TO INDIVIDUALS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION Includes the value of agricultural products produced and sold directly to individuals for human consumption from roadside stands, farmers' markets, pick-your-own sites, etc. It excludes nonedible products such as nursery products, cut flowers, wool, etc. OTHER FARM-RELATED INCOME Includes gross income in 1992 before taxes and expenses from the sales of farm byproducts and other sales and services closely related to the principal functions of the farm business. FARM PRODUCTION EXPENSES Total farm production expenses are those incurred in the operation of the farm business. Expenses include the share of the expenditures provided by landlords, contractors, and partners in the operation of the farm business. Property taxes paid by landlords are excluded. Expenditures for nonfarm activities; farm-related activities such as providing customwork for others, the production and harvest of forest products, and recreational services; and household expenses are excluded. In 1992, as in other recent censuses, operators producing crops, livestock, or poultry under contract often were unable or unwilling to estimate the cost of production inputs furnished by the contractors. As a consequence, extensive estimation was required for contract producers. LAND IN FARMS AND LAND USE LAND IN FARMS The acreage designated in the tables as "land in farms" consists primarily of agricultural land used for crops, pasture, or grazing. It also includes woodland and wasteland not actually under cultivation or used for pasture or grazing, provided it was part of the farm operator's total operations. Large acreages of woodland or wasteland held for nonagricultural purposes were deleted from individual reports during the processing operations. Land in farms includes acres set aside under annual commodity acreage programs as well as acres in the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs for places meeting the farm definition. Land in farms is an operating unit concept and includes land owned and operated as well as land rented from others. Land used as rent free was to be reported as land rented from others. All grazing land, except land used under government permits on a per-head basis, was included as "land in farms" provided it was part of a farm or ranch. Land under the exclusive use of a grazing association was to be reported by the grazing association and included as land in farms. All land in Indian reservations used for growing crops or grazing livestock was to be included as land in farms. Land in reservations not reported by individual Indians or non-Indians was to be reported in the name of the cooperative group that used the land. In some instances, an entire Indian reservation was reported as one farm. TOTAL CROPLAND Includes the sum of acreage for cropland harvested, cropland used for pasture or grazing, cropland used for cover crops, cropland on which all crops failed, cropland in cultivated summer fallow, and idle cropland. HARVESTED CROPLAND Includes all land from which crops were harvested, including hay cut, all land in orchards, citrus groves, and nursery and greenhouse crops. Land from which two or more crops were harvested was counted only once, even though there was more than one use of that land. PASTURELAND Includes all types of pastureland. It includes cropland used only for pasture or grazing, woodland pastured, and other pastureland and rangeland. IRRIGATION Irrigated land includes all land watered by artificial or controlled means, such as sprinklers, furrows or ditches, and spreader dikes. Included are supplemental, partial, and preplant irrigation. Each acre was counted only once regardless of the number of times it was irrigated or harvested. VALUE OF LAND AND BUILDINGS The value of land and buildings reported for the census is the farm operators estimate of market value, i.e., the price for which the land and buildings would sell at the time the census was taken. If the value of land and buildings was not reported or was incomplete, an estimate was supplied during processing by using the average value per acre of land and buildings for farms of approximately the same size having similar characteristics in the same area. For many groups of counties in the West, the maps exhibiting value of land and buildings per farm show reverse patterns as compared with maps showing value of land and buildings per acre, i.e., many counties in high value-per-farm categories appear in low value-per-acre categories. This reverse relationship between the two pattern maps happens because a large proportion of land in farms is comprised of low value-per-acre rangeland, and the extremely large average size of the farms and ranches offsets the low average-per-acre value, resulting in high average-per-farm values. MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT ON PLACE Farm operators estimated the market value of all machinery and equipment usually kept on the farm and used for the farm business. The reported value represents an estimate of how much the machinery and equipment would sell for in its present condition, not the replacement cost or the depreciated value. Inventory of selected items of farm equipment includes only the equipment owned, leased, rented, or temporarily borrowed from others that was on the farm on December 31, 1992, and that was used for the farm business in 1991 or 1992. These items were asked on a sample basis. AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS USED FERTILIZER Data on acreage fertilized were collected for harvested cropland and for cropland pasture and other pastureland. When the same crop was fertilized two or more times, the acreage was to be reported only once. If two different crops or two different plantings of the same crop were harvested in 1992 from the same acreage, the acreage of each crop or planting fertilized was to be reported only once. OTHER AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS Data include the cost of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, nematicides, and other pesticides and chemicals used on the farm in 1992. These data include the cost of application. Acres treated more than one time with the same chemical are included only once. However, the cost of all the materials applied was to be reported. When multipurpose chemicals were used, the acreage treated for each purpose was included. These items were asked on a sample basis. SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF OPERATORS FULL OWNERS Operators who operate only the land they own. PART OWNERS Operators who operate land they own and also land they rent from others. TENANTS Operators who operate only the land they rent from others or work on shares for others. OPERATORS OF HISPANIC ORIGIN In 1992, data for operators of Hispanic origin were collected as operators of Spanish origin. Statistics for these operators were tabulated by race. Hispanic is a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. OCCUPATION OF OPERATOR Each farm operator was asked to classify his or her principal occupation as "Farming" or "Other" according to which occupation accounted for the majority (50 percent or more) of the operator's worktime in 1992. For partnerships, the worktime of all of the members of the partnerships together was considered in determining principal occupation. FARMS BY TYPE OF ORGANIZATION Individual or family operation (sole proprietorship), excluding partnership and corporation. Partnership operation, including family partnership. Corporation, including family corporations. Other, including farms operated as cooperatives, estates and trusts, and abnormal farms such as institutional farms, Indian reservations, grazing associations, and experimental farms. LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY INVENTORY Livestock and poultry inventories are reported as of December 31, 1992. These include all animals kept on the place regardless of ownership, including livestock or poultry being custom fed or fed on contract for others. SALES Livestock and poultry sold include all animals sold or removed from the place during the year regardless of ownership. Those sold for a landlord or given to others in trade or in payment for goods and services as well as those custom fed for others were to be included. Animals bought and sold within a 30-day period were to be excluded. The value of livestock and poultry sold represents the gross sales value before deducting any marketing or production costs. For livestock or poultry fed under contract for others, the estimated market value is at the time they were taken from the place. CROPS HARVESTED In 1992, nearly all of the acres reported for individual crops represent acres harvested except for a small part of the acreage of corn, sorghum, peanuts, soybeans, and cowpeas counted as harvested that was hogged or grazed when the crop was mature or almost mature. Since more than one crop may have been harvested from the same land during the same crop year, the sum of acres of all crops harvested exceeds the acreage of land from which crops were harvested. CASH GRAINS All cash grain crops were collected. The major cash grains that are shown in this publication include corn for grain, sorghum for grain, wheat, oats, barley, rice, soybeans for beans, dry edible beans and peas, and sunflowers. The maps are limited to the acres harvested for each of these crops. OTHER FIELD CROPS All other field crops were collected in the census. Sugar crops, peanuts, cotton, Irish potatoes, tobacco, hay crops, canola, and field seeds are shown in our maps. These represent the major crops in this category. VEGETABLES The individual acres of each kind of vegetable harvested were reported as well as the acreage of land from which vegetables were harvested. The maps are limited to the acres of major vegetables harvested. FRUITS, NUTS, AND BERRIES In 1992, data for individual fruits, nuts, and berries were collected. Also, the total land in bearing and nonbearing fruit orchards, citrus or other groves, vineyards, and nut trees was reported. The maps show the major crop acres harvested by type of fruits, nuts, or berries. NURSERY AND GREENHOUSE CROPS These data are a summation of the individual dollar value of items reported. Included are all nursery and greenhouse crops grown on this place for sale--wholesale or retail. Included are items sold on consignment. Only the major categories of crops are represented in these maps.