Definition of a farm
Agricultural statistics are based on various surveys and censuses conducted in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The three countries run their respective agricultural statistics programs through farming information obtained from collection units. Browse the sections below to learn more about the definition of the main agricultural units in each country.
Canada
The main agricultural units used to collect Canadian agriculture statistics are:
Operation: Any business operation reporting farm sales in tax records. The definition was introduced for the first time in 2020 and incorporated in all statistical programs, including the Census of Agriculture. To ensure that the frame is correct, definition has been enlarged to include any tax signal indicating farm activities in a business. Previously, the definition was based on the intention to sell agricultural products.
Operator: A Canadian agriculture operator is a person responsible for the day-to-day decisions made in the agricultural operation, potentially with other operators.
United States
The main agricultural units used to collect American agriculture statistics are:
Farm: Any place which produce and sold or normally would have produced or sold $1,000 worth of agricultural products during the year.
Farmer: The person responsible for all or most of the day-to-day decisions such as planting, harvesting, feeding, or marketing for the farm operation. The operator could be the owner, hired manager, cash tenant, share tenant or a partner.
Mexico
The main agricultural units used to collect Mexican agriculture statistics are:
Production Unit: It is the economic unit made up of one or more plots of land located in the same municipality, where at least one of them carries out agricultural or forestry activities, under the administration of the same producer and with the same production elements, such as equipment, machinery, vehicles and labor available for these activities.
If the producer has land located in another municipality, it is considered as another production unit; that is, there will be as many production units as there are municipalities occupying their land.
Includes those units that do not have land and that raise animals to produce meat, milk, eggs, skin, honey, wool, for work or recreational purposes; and the breeding is carried out on common use land or land owned by the federal, state or municipal government.
Producer: Person, group of persons or company responsible(s) for the management and decision-making of the production unit.
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ABOUT NATCAS
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CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS
Program description
Definition of a farm
Statistical concepts
PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION
Agricultural census
Common releases
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Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
DATA AND INDICATORS
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COLLABORATERS
Statistics Canada (StatCan)
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Agricultural and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP)
National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI)

Disclamer
The information is presented as it is, and Statistics Canada, the National Agricultural Statistics Department of Agriculture of the United States, the Agricultural and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP) and the National Institute of Statics and Geography (INEGI), don’t offer any guarantees, express or implied, including but not limited to guarantees of marketing and adapt to a particular purpose. In any case the above agencies shall not be liable for any direct, special, indirect, consequential or other caused by the use of the information provided.