Agricultural statistics of the USA 1974

Washington: United States Department Of Agriculture. National Agricultural Statistics Service. United States Government printing office, 1974. — 627 p.

Agricultural Statistics is published each year to meet the diverse need for a reliable reference book on agricultural production, supplies, consumption, facilities, costs, and returns. Its tables of annual data cover a wide variety of facts in forms suited to most common use.

Inquiries concerning more current or more detailed data, past and prospective revisions, or the statistical methodology used should be addressed directly to the agency credited with preparing the table. Most of the data were prepared or compiled in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A few tables were prepared in other Government agencies.

The historical series in this volume have been generally limited to data beginning with 1959 or later. However, many of the series carry a reference in the source note to the table in Agricultural Statistics, 1972, where comparable data for earlier years can be found. In the 1972 issue, historical tables showing totals for the United States begin with 1929 for the principal crops and with 1930 for January 1 livestock numbers. Most fruit and vegetable tables begin with 1944. Other basic tables showing national totals begin with 1949 or 1954 (livestock and poultry tables 1 year later).

These two publications should provide data for enough years to meet the needs of most users. Some of the index numbers series have been revised back to the beginning of the series based on revised basic data, but revisions earlier than 1959 will not be published in Agricultural Statistics until the next long-time series is compiled for publication.

Agricultural data for Alaska and Hawaii are included in the appropriate tables, where available. Certain statistics for Alaska are found in chapter XIV.

Foreign agricultural trade statistics include Government as well as non-Government shipments of merchandise from the United States and Territories to foreign countries. They do not include U.S. shipments to the U.S. Armed Forces abroad for their own use or shipments between the States and U.S. Territories. The world summaries of production and trade of major farm products are prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from reports of the U.S. Department of Commerce, official statistics of foreign governments, other foreign source materials, reports of U.S. Agricultural Attaches and Foreign Service Officers, and the result of office research.

Statistics presented in many of the tables represent actual counts of the items covered. Most of the statistics relating to foreign trade and to Government programs, such as numbers and amounts of loans made to farmers, and amounts of loans made by the Commodity Credit Corporation, etc., are data of this type. A large number of other tables, however, contain data that are estimates made by the Department of Agriculture.

The estimates for crops, livestock, and poultry made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are prepared mainly to give timely current State and national totals and averages. They are based on data obtained by sample surveys of farmers and of people who do business with farmers. The survey data are supplemented by information from the Censuses of Agriculture taken every five years and check data from various sources. Being estimates, they are subject to revision as more data become available from commerical or Government sources. Unless otherwise indicated, the totals for the United States shown in the various tables on area, production, numbers, price, value, supplies, and disposition are based on official Department estimates. They exclude States for which no official estimates are compiled.

Chapters:
Introduction.
Grain and feed.
Cotton, tobacco, sugar, crops, and honey.
Oilseeds, fats and oils.
Vegetables and melons.
Fruits, tree nuts, and horticultural specialties.
Hay, seeds, and minor field crops.
Cattle, hogs, and sheep.
Dairy and poultry statistics.
Farm resources, income, and expenses.
Taxes, insurance, credit, and cooperatives.
Stabilization and price-support programs.
Agricultural conservation and forestry statistics.
Consumption and family living.
Miscellaneous agricultural statistics.
Index.