2016 Segments Screening and Tracts Enumerator Training
New Enumerators June Area Training
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service
Angela Harden Heartland Regional Field Office
GENERAL INFORMATION PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES OR PUT ON SILENCE NO TEXTING PLEASE REFRAIN FROM A LOT OF “SIDE CONVERSATIONS” WHILE THE SPEAKERS ARE TALKING
FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS – WE WANT YOU TO LEAVE WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIALS
Training Goals • NASS Mission
• Purpose of the June Surveys • Changes from Last Year • How to Complete the Reports!
The NASS Mission
Our agency’s mission is “To provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.
The June Agricultural Survey • Provides the basis for this season’s crop production and supplies of grain in storage. • Provide current livestock and poultry numbers. • Measures use of Genetically Modified Seed.
• Farm Numbers, Cash Rents & Land Values. • Base Survey – basis for all future sampling and survey activities for the year.
What is Screening? • Screening is simply the process we use to decide when and if we need to complete a tract questionnaire.
• Who operates the land inside the blue line, and what type of land is in between those lines.
What is Screening? • What is the process? • Simply asking a series of questions to make sure that the land is properly defined – Ag or Non-Ag.
What is the Purpose of Screening? • The main purpose of screening is to identify and account for all land inside the segment. • To find the names and addresses of all the possible contacts operating in that segment, and determine the boundaries for each operator.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE
• What is it ? • It is the Tract Recording Sheet. –A directory used to tell who is operating in that segment.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE • The Area Screening Questionnaire is a tract directory used to: –Record complete names and addresses for all tract operators (both Ag and Non-Ag). –Determine if a tract operator qualifies for an Area Ag Tract Questionnaire.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE • Verify the number of tract letters listed matches the number of tract letters on the aerial photo. • Verify sum of reported acres matches Digitized acres. • ‘Old’ Tracts will already be listed.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE • ‘New’ Tracts must be added to the screening questionnaire with complete names and addresses. • IF a ‘Yes’ or ‘DK’ is marked on any question 8-16, you must complete an Area questionnaire for this operator because agricultural activity has been determined. – These questions refer to the ENTIRE operation, not just the tract acres.
SCREENING QUESTIONNARIE • For Non-Ag tracts, the interview ends in the screening form.
• Thus, questions 8 – 16 are all ‘NO’, and columns 18, 20, and 20a must be completed. • Use the decimal point for acreages listed in column 18.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments Use the same tract letters as last year if the operator is the same. Previously enumerated tract letters can be identified on the label on Page 2 of the Screening Questionnaire and on the ag tract questionnaire.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments • If a different person is now operating a tract enumerated last year, cross out the old name and tract letter in the Screening Questionnaire. • If the new operator is new to the segment, enter the name and address on the next available line in the screening questionnaire and assign the next unused tract letter. Also write the name, address and new tract letter on a blank Area Questionnaire. • Erase the old tract letter on the photo and write in the new letter.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments In this example, Bill Riggs sold his land to Bob White. Bob White did not operate land in this segment last year. Do NOT use the same tract letter but assign a new tract letter to Bob White.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments
X through former operator
Assign next unused tract letter
Oper takes over land, already in seg
Things to remember • DON’T FORGET: You must account for all land inside the red segment boundaries.
• All land inside the segment must belong to an Ag Tract or a Non-Ag Tract. • Be sure you have completed the entire segment by verifying the number of tracts completed and acreages on the back page of the Screening Questionnaire.
Questions?
NASS Survey Training
June Area: Face Page and Sections A & C
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service
Angela Harden Cathy Hamilton Heartland Regional Field Office
What Is a Tract Questionnaire? • A Tract questionnaire is the story book for the operation. All the details of the operation are listed in this questionnaire – that’s why it is the story book.
Area Tract Questionnaire • When do you complete a June Area Ag Tract Questionnaire? – For each tract operator who qualifies as a possible farm operator • Any screening question (Column 8-16) = Yes or DK – – – – –
All agricultural producers Sell ag products or receive gov't payments Crops stored now or before June 1 of next year Has livestock Has idle cropland or more than 99 acres of pasture
Area Tract Questionnaire – Face Page: • Main pieces of information: All contact information will be pre-printed on the Face Page for all Segments enumerated last year. – ID info (Segment, Stratum, Tract & County)
– Name & Address, Phone Number (operator/mgr) • All info should be verified and/or corrected
Section A - Operation Description • Identifies the tract operating arrangement – Three possibilities: • Individual • Partnership • Managed
– Determines the operator – Identifies partners and their contact info
Section A - Operation Description • How does NASS define the OPERATOR? – Person who makes most of the day to day decisions
• What if the partners share equally? – The oldest is the Operator.
• What if the partners listed have changed or no longer exist? – Verify the name(s), addresses, phone number(s) of the partners listed and make corrections as needed.
Section A - Operation Description • Add any new partner(s) names and record their addresses and phone numbers. Try to obtain the most complete and accurate contact information as you can. • Managed operations must have an Operation Name! • Only one operating arrangement per Area Tract Questionnaire!
Section A - Operation Description • Item 4 & 5 - Additional Questions(Census Years Only):
Section A - Operation Description • Why are we asking these two additional questions? − We are interested in both other operation/business names and names of people, like spouses, that might be on the Census Mail List(CML) but not operating in the tract.
− We do not need partner’s names since they will have already been reported on page 2.
Section A - Operation Description • Add any new partner(s) names and record their addresses and phone numbers. • Try to obtain the most complete and accurate contact information as you can.
Section C – Sections To Be Completed • Section C determines if additional questions for the entire operation are required. – Is this is a NOL tract? – New tract? – Was this a non-ag tract last year? – Has anything changed on the label or partners changed?
Section C – Sections To Be Completed • The Regional Field Office reviews all previously known operations before the survey period – Identifies any operations not represented on the List Sampling Frame • NOL or “non-overlap” NOL – Simply means – “Not On the List”
– A check mark will be in the CROPS-STOCKS Box • Means that all questions will be asked
Section C – Sections to be Completed • Who is supposed to check the box - the office or the enumerator? – 1) Office personnel • Classified for crops/stocks survey
– 2) Enumerators • New operator • Change from non-ag to ag • Change in name, address, phone number, operator or partners
Section C – Sections to be Completed • If the crops/stocks box is checked, – Then you will complete the entire questionnaire • (Sect E-Q10 &11, Sect E.1 and Sect F) will NOT be skipped for the operator of this tract
Section C – Sections to be Completed • If the crops/stocks box is not checked, – then you will SKIP Sect E Questions 10 & 11, Sect E.1 and Sect F.
Stupid box front
Section C – Sections to be Completed • Remember, this section contains a series of enumerator instructions to help determine if the operation is NOL. – Follow the instructions and you will be fine.
• You will need to ask everything in the questionnaire if: – – – –
This is a NOL tract New tract Was a non-ag tract last year If anything changed on the label or partners changed
Section C – Sections to be Completed
• Remember to follow the enumerator instructions very carefully
Questions?
June Area: Section D For New Enumerators!
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service
Angela Harden St. Louis, MO
SECTION D Purpose (from the manual) • Section D provides information for estimates of crop acreage and land usage. Planted acreage and harvest intentions for this year will be published in the June Acreage Report. • Provides sample fields for Objective Yield crops.
SECTION D Purpose (practical) • Section D is the Aerial Photo put to paper.
Section D • Section D reflects the land inside the Blue Tract Boundary That’s why we ask this:
And this:
SECTION D Overview • Small errors in section D can be a big deal!
• You must be very observant to get the Section D completed correctly.
• Section D reports the entire tract inside the BLUE TRACT boundary. – Not just tillable or cropland acres. – Be sure to account for all of the cropland, woods, farmsteads, pasture and waste.
Fields • A field is a continuous area of land devoted to one crop or land use.
• Field boundaries are drawn off in RED. • Fields are numbered in RED.
140177 Scotland, MO 1 of 1
Fields • Minimum field size is one-tenth of an acre (0.1) • All acreage entries to be recorded to the tenth of an acre (Example: 20 ½ acres = 20.5)
Fields • If operation has more than 9 fields in the tract, use the Section D supplement sheet.
Doubling Up: • Most fields can have some waste or woodlands, or idle land (less than 5 acres):
5 Acre Rule: • Idle land, Woodland, Waste 5 acres or more MUST be a separate field.
• Idle land, Woodland, Waste LESS than 5 acres may be included in another field.
Example:
What not to do:
Woods, Waste and Pasture Don’t Mix • Those three can never be in the same field! • Like Ice Cream, Hot Sauce, and Brussel Sprouts
Don’t forget the Crop Name!
This is much better.
50 0 50 0
SECTION D: Back on the Farmstead • If the operator lives inside the segment, Field 1 MUST be the farmstead. • If the operator lives outside the segment, Field 1 will be the most accessible or easiest field to identify on the aerial photo.
Example:
There can never be anything in the field with the house! Wrong!
Right!
1.0
Dual Utilization • Example: cover crop of rye was planted. Rye will be harvested. Soybeans will be planted later.
Dual Utilization • Example: Dry hay cut once then harvested for haylage.
Haylage (and any other crop not listed) goes at the bottom.
Dual Utilization • Exclude: –Straw –Replanting due to failure –Dry hay cut more than once –Planting for next year’s crop
TOTAL TRACT ACRES • Do the fields add up?
Why doesn’t it add up? • What went wrong? –Did they include all waste acres? –Did you or the respondent miss a field? –Did you mis-record acres in a field?
Looks like they forgot the woods:
• Section D must be completed for every Ag Tract Questionnaire!!! • • • • •
All of them? Yes! All of them! Even refusals? Absolutely ALL of them! What about inaccessibles?
• ALL!!! Every single one!
So what if they refuse? • For Refusals and Inaccessibles: – Draw the fields off – Number fields – Complete Section D
• Use your grid to determine field acreages. • Observe what is in the fields or what may be planted.
Questions?
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service
Angela Harden Heartland Regional Field Office
GENERAL INFORMATION PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES OR PUT ON SILENCE NO TEXTING PLEASE REFRAIN FROM A LOT OF “SIDE CONVERSATIONS” WHILE THE SPEAKERS ARE TALKING
FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS – WE WANT YOU TO LEAVE WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIALS
Training Goals • NASS Mission
• Purpose of the June Surveys • Changes from Last Year • How to Complete the Reports!
The NASS Mission
Our agency’s mission is “To provide timely, accurate, and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.
The June Agricultural Survey • Provides the basis for this season’s crop production and supplies of grain in storage. • Provide current livestock and poultry numbers. • Measures use of Genetically Modified Seed.
• Farm Numbers, Cash Rents & Land Values. • Base Survey – basis for all future sampling and survey activities for the year.
What is Screening? • Screening is simply the process we use to decide when and if we need to complete a tract questionnaire.
• Who operates the land inside the blue line, and what type of land is in between those lines.
What is Screening? • What is the process? • Simply asking a series of questions to make sure that the land is properly defined – Ag or Non-Ag.
What is the Purpose of Screening? • The main purpose of screening is to identify and account for all land inside the segment. • To find the names and addresses of all the possible contacts operating in that segment, and determine the boundaries for each operator.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE
• What is it ? • It is the Tract Recording Sheet. –A directory used to tell who is operating in that segment.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE • The Area Screening Questionnaire is a tract directory used to: –Record complete names and addresses for all tract operators (both Ag and Non-Ag). –Determine if a tract operator qualifies for an Area Ag Tract Questionnaire.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE • Verify the number of tract letters listed matches the number of tract letters on the aerial photo. • Verify sum of reported acres matches Digitized acres. • ‘Old’ Tracts will already be listed.
SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE • ‘New’ Tracts must be added to the screening questionnaire with complete names and addresses. • IF a ‘Yes’ or ‘DK’ is marked on any question 8-16, you must complete an Area questionnaire for this operator because agricultural activity has been determined. – These questions refer to the ENTIRE operation, not just the tract acres.
SCREENING QUESTIONNARIE • For Non-Ag tracts, the interview ends in the screening form.
• Thus, questions 8 – 16 are all ‘NO’, and columns 18, 20, and 20a must be completed. • Use the decimal point for acreages listed in column 18.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments Use the same tract letters as last year if the operator is the same. Previously enumerated tract letters can be identified on the label on Page 2 of the Screening Questionnaire and on the ag tract questionnaire.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments • If a different person is now operating a tract enumerated last year, cross out the old name and tract letter in the Screening Questionnaire. • If the new operator is new to the segment, enter the name and address on the next available line in the screening questionnaire and assign the next unused tract letter. Also write the name, address and new tract letter on a blank Area Questionnaire. • Erase the old tract letter on the photo and write in the new letter.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments In this example, Bill Riggs sold his land to Bob White. Bob White did not operate land in this segment last year. Do NOT use the same tract letter but assign a new tract letter to Bob White.
Assigning Tract Letters – Old Segments
X through former operator
Assign next unused tract letter
Oper takes over land, already in seg
Things to remember • DON’T FORGET: You must account for all land inside the red segment boundaries.
• All land inside the segment must belong to an Ag Tract or a Non-Ag Tract. • Be sure you have completed the entire segment by verifying the number of tracts completed and acreages on the back page of the Screening Questionnaire.
Questions?
NASS Survey Training
June Area: Face Page and Sections A & C
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service
Angela Harden Cathy Hamilton Heartland Regional Field Office
What Is a Tract Questionnaire? • A Tract questionnaire is the story book for the operation. All the details of the operation are listed in this questionnaire – that’s why it is the story book.
Area Tract Questionnaire • When do you complete a June Area Ag Tract Questionnaire? – For each tract operator who qualifies as a possible farm operator • Any screening question (Column 8-16) = Yes or DK – – – – –
All agricultural producers Sell ag products or receive gov't payments Crops stored now or before June 1 of next year Has livestock Has idle cropland or more than 99 acres of pasture
Area Tract Questionnaire – Face Page: • Main pieces of information: All contact information will be pre-printed on the Face Page for all Segments enumerated last year. – ID info (Segment, Stratum, Tract & County)
– Name & Address, Phone Number (operator/mgr) • All info should be verified and/or corrected
Section A - Operation Description • Identifies the tract operating arrangement – Three possibilities: • Individual • Partnership • Managed
– Determines the operator – Identifies partners and their contact info
Section A - Operation Description • How does NASS define the OPERATOR? – Person who makes most of the day to day decisions
• What if the partners share equally? – The oldest is the Operator.
• What if the partners listed have changed or no longer exist? – Verify the name(s), addresses, phone number(s) of the partners listed and make corrections as needed.
Section A - Operation Description • Add any new partner(s) names and record their addresses and phone numbers. Try to obtain the most complete and accurate contact information as you can. • Managed operations must have an Operation Name! • Only one operating arrangement per Area Tract Questionnaire!
Section A - Operation Description • Item 4 & 5 - Additional Questions(Census Years Only):
Section A - Operation Description • Why are we asking these two additional questions? − We are interested in both other operation/business names and names of people, like spouses, that might be on the Census Mail List(CML) but not operating in the tract.
− We do not need partner’s names since they will have already been reported on page 2.
Section A - Operation Description • Add any new partner(s) names and record their addresses and phone numbers. • Try to obtain the most complete and accurate contact information as you can.
Section C – Sections To Be Completed • Section C determines if additional questions for the entire operation are required. – Is this is a NOL tract? – New tract? – Was this a non-ag tract last year? – Has anything changed on the label or partners changed?
Section C – Sections To Be Completed • The Regional Field Office reviews all previously known operations before the survey period – Identifies any operations not represented on the List Sampling Frame • NOL or “non-overlap” NOL – Simply means – “Not On the List”
– A check mark will be in the CROPS-STOCKS Box • Means that all questions will be asked
Section C – Sections to be Completed • Who is supposed to check the box - the office or the enumerator? – 1) Office personnel • Classified for crops/stocks survey
– 2) Enumerators • New operator • Change from non-ag to ag • Change in name, address, phone number, operator or partners
Section C – Sections to be Completed • If the crops/stocks box is checked, – Then you will complete the entire questionnaire • (Sect E-Q10 &11, Sect E.1 and Sect F) will NOT be skipped for the operator of this tract
Section C – Sections to be Completed • If the crops/stocks box is not checked, – then you will SKIP Sect E Questions 10 & 11, Sect E.1 and Sect F.
Stupid box front
Section C – Sections to be Completed • Remember, this section contains a series of enumerator instructions to help determine if the operation is NOL. – Follow the instructions and you will be fine.
• You will need to ask everything in the questionnaire if: – – – –
This is a NOL tract New tract Was a non-ag tract last year If anything changed on the label or partners changed
Section C – Sections to be Completed
• Remember to follow the enumerator instructions very carefully
Questions?
June Area: Section D For New Enumerators!
United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service
Angela Harden St. Louis, MO
SECTION D Purpose (from the manual) • Section D provides information for estimates of crop acreage and land usage. Planted acreage and harvest intentions for this year will be published in the June Acreage Report. • Provides sample fields for Objective Yield crops.
SECTION D Purpose (practical) • Section D is the Aerial Photo put to paper.
Section D • Section D reflects the land inside the Blue Tract Boundary That’s why we ask this:
And this:
SECTION D Overview • Small errors in section D can be a big deal!
• You must be very observant to get the Section D completed correctly.
• Section D reports the entire tract inside the BLUE TRACT boundary. – Not just tillable or cropland acres. – Be sure to account for all of the cropland, woods, farmsteads, pasture and waste.
Fields • A field is a continuous area of land devoted to one crop or land use.
• Field boundaries are drawn off in RED. • Fields are numbered in RED.
140177 Scotland, MO 1 of 1
Fields • Minimum field size is one-tenth of an acre (0.1) • All acreage entries to be recorded to the tenth of an acre (Example: 20 ½ acres = 20.5)
Fields • If operation has more than 9 fields in the tract, use the Section D supplement sheet.
Doubling Up: • Most fields can have some waste or woodlands, or idle land (less than 5 acres):
5 Acre Rule: • Idle land, Woodland, Waste 5 acres or more MUST be a separate field.
• Idle land, Woodland, Waste LESS than 5 acres may be included in another field.
Example:
What not to do:
Woods, Waste and Pasture Don’t Mix • Those three can never be in the same field! • Like Ice Cream, Hot Sauce, and Brussel Sprouts
Don’t forget the Crop Name!
This is much better.
50 0 50 0
SECTION D: Back on the Farmstead • If the operator lives inside the segment, Field 1 MUST be the farmstead. • If the operator lives outside the segment, Field 1 will be the most accessible or easiest field to identify on the aerial photo.
Example:
There can never be anything in the field with the house! Wrong!
Right!
1.0
Dual Utilization • Example: cover crop of rye was planted. Rye will be harvested. Soybeans will be planted later.
Dual Utilization • Example: Dry hay cut once then harvested for haylage.
Haylage (and any other crop not listed) goes at the bottom.
Dual Utilization • Exclude: –Straw –Replanting due to failure –Dry hay cut more than once –Planting for next year’s crop
TOTAL TRACT ACRES • Do the fields add up?
Why doesn’t it add up? • What went wrong? –Did they include all waste acres? –Did you or the respondent miss a field? –Did you mis-record acres in a field?
Looks like they forgot the woods:
• Section D must be completed for every Ag Tract Questionnaire!!! • • • • •
All of them? Yes! All of them! Even refusals? Absolutely ALL of them! What about inaccessibles?
• ALL!!! Every single one!
So what if they refuse? • For Refusals and Inaccessibles: – Draw the fields off – Number fields – Complete Section D
• Use your grid to determine field acreages. • Observe what is in the fields or what may be planted.
Questions?
