3510-07-P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
[Docket Number: 240620-0168]
X-RIN 0607-XC077
American Community Survey Agricultural Sales and Farm Indicator Data
AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of request for comments
SUMMARY: The American Community Survey (ACS) is a continuous survey conducted by
the U.S. Census Bureau, gathering detailed housing and socioeconomic data from around 3.54
million addresses in the U.S. and about 36,000 addresses in Puerto Rico annually. It replaces the
long-form census previously done once a decade, providing crucial statistics for governmental,
non-profit, business, and public decision-making at various levels. To enhance efficiency and
reduce respondent burden, the ACS is increasingly utilizing administrative and third-party data
sources. The Census Bureau is considering using such data to replace the agricultural sales
question, which has implications for federal programs and economic analysis. The proposal
explores several data sources to classify properties as farms or non-farms. The Department of
Commerce invites the public to comment on the proposed research to determine whether data
other than survey responses can be used effectively to replace agricultural sales data currently
provided by the Census Bureau that has been obtained from responses to the ACS.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments must be received on or before [INSERT DATE 45
DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by email to
acso.pra@census.gov. Please reference ACS Agricultural Sales in the subject line of your
comments. All comments received are part of the public record. All Personally Identifiable
Information (for example, name and address) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be

publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic comments in Microsoft Word,
Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed to Elizabeth Poehler, ADC
for Survey Methods, U.S. Census Bureau, 301-763-9305, elizabeth.poehler@census.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing monthly survey that collects
detailed housing and socioeconomic data from a sample of about 3.54 million addresses in the 50
states and the District of Columbia and about 36,000 addresses in Puerto Rico each year, where it
is known as the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). The ACS also collects detailed
socioeconomic data from about 170,900 residents living in group quarters (GQ) facilities in the
United States and Puerto Rico. Resulting tabulations from this data collection are provided every
year. The ACS allows the U.S. Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and
socioeconomic statistics, even for small geographic areas.
The Census Bureau developed the ACS to collect and update demographic, social,
economic, and housing data every year that are essentially the same as the “long-form” data that
the Census Bureau formerly collected once a decade as part of the decennial census. Federal and
state government agencies use such data to evaluate and manage federal programs and to
distribute funding for various programs that include food stamp benefits, transportation dollars,
and housing grants. State, county, tribal, and community governments, nonprofit organizations,
businesses, and the general public use information such as housing quality, income distribution,
journey-to-work patterns, immigration data, and regional age distributions for decision-making
and program evaluation. The ACS is now the only source of comparable data about social,
economic, housing, and demographic characteristics for small areas and small subpopulations

across the nation and in Puerto Rico.
The ACS program provides estimates annually for all states and all medium and large
cities, counties, and metropolitan areas. For smaller areas and population groups, it takes five
years to accumulate enough data to provide reliable estimates. Every community in the nation
continues to receive a detailed, statistical portrait of its social, economic, housing, and
demographic characteristics each year through one-year and five-year ACS products.
The ACS collects detailed socioeconomic data on over 40 topics. The list of topics and
questions can be found here: https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2018/dec/plannedquestions-2020-acs.html
The Census Bureau collects these data under the authority of Title 13, United States
Code, Sections 141, 193, 221, and 223. By that same law, the Census Bureau is obligated to use
existing information that has already been collected by other government agencies, whenever
possible, instead of asking for such information directly from the public.
Following the Census Bureau’s strategic plan and transformation initiative to change our
focus from being a survey-centric data provider to a data product-focused provider of
information, the ACS program has made it a priority to use alternative data sources and expand
the use of administrative and third-party data to meet customer needs and reduce the dependency
on traditional methods of data collection. The expanded use of administrative and third-party
data in the ACS is expected to reduce data collection costs, improve operational efficiency,
reduce respondent burden, and improve the quality of ACS data products. The Census Bureau
has begun to explore the use of administrative and third-party data in a variety of ways for
various topics on the ACS.
Beginning in January 2024, we implemented an adaptive approach for collecting data on
property lot size (acreage) that uses administrative property tax data purchased from a third-party
vendor. We analyzed the quality of the property tax data for acreage and developed business

rules for using the data. The acreage question is skipped when administrative data are available.
Research is underway to determine how administrative and third-party data can be used
for other topics on the ACS. This program announcement is specifically related to using
administrative and third-party data for the agricultural sales question.
The agricultural sales question was introduced in 1960 on the Decennial Census housing
questionnaire. The question was transferred to the ACS when the ACS replaced the Decennial
Census long-form in 2005. The question is asked of people living in single-family attached and
detached housing units and mobile homes built on at least one acre of land.
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, what were the actual sales of all agricultural products from
this property?
None
$1 to $999
$1,000 to $2,499
$2,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $9,999
$10,000 or more
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses data from this question to aid in
calculations for its data release on National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs). The BEA
uses the data to create a distinction between farm and non-farm properties. They define farms as
properties reporting agricultural product sales of $1,000 or more in the past 12 months; the
remaining properties are classified as non-farms.
Data from this question are also used in editing and imputation procedures by the Census
Bureau for employment and income.

The Census Bureau releases data on agricultural sales on the ACS Public Use Microdata
Sample (PUMS) file; data on agricultural sales are not included in any ACS tabulations on
data.census.gov.
II. Proposal
For a question to be included in the ACS, there must be a legally cited federal need for
the data. Currently, BEA’s use of these data is the only known federally required use.
The Census Bureau proposes exploring using administrative and third-party data to satisfy
BEA’s data need instead of asking the public the agricultural sales question. This project
proposes using administrative and third-party data from multiple sources to create a variable that
classifies ACS sample addresses as farms or non-farms. The data sources under consideration
include tax assessment records on property and land use, parcel boundary data from property tax
records, survey data, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 Schedule F data on profit or
loss from farming, and land cover data based on satellite imagery. Data will be assessed for
quality and a farm indicator will be formulated through statistical modeling and business rules.
The resulting indicator will be evaluated at the microdata level and against current tabulated
estimates.
The proposed farm indicator could also replace the current agricultural sales data used in
the Census Bureau’s editing and imputation procedures for employment and income data.
After research is conducted, a report will be made public on the Census Bureau’s website.
The ACS is not expected to be changed before 2026. In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, additional federal register notices with the opportunity for public comment will
be published in the Federal Register before a change is implemented.
III. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to identify additional stakeholders that use the current
Agricultural Sales data on the ACS PUMS file. We are also interested in feedback about the
proposed research.

Comments you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before
including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal
identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in
your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Robert L. Santos, Director, Census Bureau, approved the publication of this Notice in the Federal
Register.

Dated: June 26, 2024.
Shannon Wink,
Program Analyst,
Policy Coordination Office,
U.S. Census Bureau.

[FR Doc. 2024-14633 Filed: 7/2/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/3/2024]