How was the content of the 2011 Census of Agriculture determined?
Census of Agriculture staff consulted with data users at a series of workshops held across Canada in 2007. Agricultural producer groups, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada analysts, other public and private sector analysts and academics suggested new topics for the 2011 Census of Agriculture by written submission after consultation workshops. New or changed questions were developed in Head Office in consultation with industry experts and tested a number of times with farm operators who reflected regional diversity—in types of agriculture, production techniques, farm size, language and age. This testing proved that some questions would not perform well on the census, and that the wording of other questions would require fine-tuning. Based on the test results, Statistics Canada finalized the content and design of the 2011 questionnaire in the fall of 2009. The questions were approved by Cabinet and prescribed by Order in Council as required under the Statistics Act in the spring of 2010.
