Why aren t there different questionnaires for different types of agricultural operations?
It would be too costly, time consuming and inefficient to provide separate questionnaires for different kinds of farms. The Census of Agriculture piggybacks its collection with the Census of Population thereby eliminating duplication of costs and work involved in the national collection. A standard questionnaire simplifies collection and respondent burden when enumerating all the different types of farms in Canada. The Census of Agriculture provides a national picture of agriculture across Canada, by asking the same questions in every corner of the country. The census, because it involves all farms in Canada, picks up new crops and livestock in areas where they may not have been grown or raised before. The questionnaire has been designed so that operators only respond to those questions that apply to them.
