The ZIP Code Tabulations report provides selected statistics, by ZIP Code, from the 1997 Census of Agriculture. The census of agriculture, conducted every five years, is a comprehensive source of statistics about the Nation's farms and ranches, and the only source of comparable detailed data at the county level. The 1997 Census of Agriculture marks the third time that agricultural statistics also are available by ZIP Code.
The Tabulations cover all farms, regardless of size, in all 50 States. Two new data items are included in the 1997 tabulations: (1) cut Christmas trees sold and (2) maple trees tapped. Total farm counts by five-digit ZIP Code and by ZIP Code by frequency are represented for the following items:
All ZIP Codes with five or more farms are published as separate, individual ZIP Codes in the tables. All ZIP Codes with fewer than five farms are included in the "All other ZIP Codes" category as the last item in the stub for each State. ZIP Codes with no farms do not appear in the TABLES. (Tables are available in Lotus spreadsheet .WK3 format for your convenience)
Data are provided by the mailed ZIP Code that was included in the address label of each census report form, but were tabulated within the State where the agricultural production was located or reported as indicated by the census respondent. See Limitations of ZIP Code Data for a detailed explanation.
Zip Codes primarily identify areas within the United States to simplify and speed the distribution of mail. Although data based on ZIP Codes may be used for geographic and demographic purposes, the data should be used with caution, since ZIP Code alignments do not necessarily conform to boundaries of cities, counties, States, or other jurisdictions.
The first digit of a five-digit ZIP Code divides the country into 10 large groups of States numbered from 0 in the Northeast to 9 in the far West. Each State is divided into geographic areas identified by the second and third digits of the ZIP Code. Three-digit ZIP Codes for each region and State are shown below:
3-Digit States Included *************************************************************************** 010-089 Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont004 and Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania
090-199201 and Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
206-297 Virginia, and West Virginia298-399 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi,
and 723 Tennessee
400-499 Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio
500-514 Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
520-526
530-599
and 821600-693 Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska
515-516
527-528
and 739700-722 Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas
724-738
740-799
and 885800-820 Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico
822-837 Utah, and Wyoming
840-884
889-898
961-979
and 994838 and Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and
900-960 Washington
962-968
970-978
980-993
995-999
The fourth and fifth digits of a ZIP Code identify a local delivery area. Nine digit ZIP Codes are not available in this tabulation.
A ZIP Code's name represents the main post office, branch, or community post office. During census mail list development, the census mail list records went through a series of computer operations that 1) checked the validity of the ZIP Code/post office name match, 2) inserted ZIP Codes or post office names into records missing one of these two items, and 3) standardized spelling of post office names. This activity occurred during late 1996 and 1997.
After all data collection and census processing were completed, the ZIP Codes with five or more farms were identified along with the appropriate data. They were then matched to the United States Postal Service - City State File. The ZIP Code post office names were used to the fullest extent possible, not the locality names.
It is important to note that the data presented here are based only on the Zip Codes boundaries in the census year. ZIP Code directories are revised annually to reflect both the expansions and contractions within existing ZIP Codes.
Data are limited to farm counts for selected items, because of the large number of ZIP Codes involved. Reporting only farm counts eliminated the need for disclosure analysis. This analysis involves reviewing all data tables before publication to identify and suppress data that would disclose information concerning an individual operation. Publishing farm counts in a given size category or other classification is not considered a release of confidential information.
Farm location vs. mailed ZIP Code. The 1997 Census of Agriculture, like all agricultural censuses since 1969, employed the mailout/mailback method of enumeration. In most cases, the operator's mailing address and mailed ZIP Code (Zip Code in the address label of the census report) were the same as the location of the farm operated. Therefore, the vast majority of farms were tabulated in the ZIP Codes where they were located. However, in some instances, the operator's farm was located outside the mailed ZIP Code. Consequently, these farms are not counted in the ZIP Codes of their physical location.
Reported State vs. mailed State. The farm counts were tabulated by mailed ZIP Code within reported State, i.e., the State in which the farm was physically located. In a case where the operator's mailing address was in a State different than the State in which the farm was located, the ZIP Code in the address would not belong to the set of ZIP Codes for the reported State.
In this situation, the data are published as follows. If fewer than five farms reported the out-of-State ZIP Code, the farms were tabulated and published in the "All other ZIP Codes" category for the reported State. If five or more farms reported the out-of-state ZIP Code, the farms were tabulated and published as an additional, distinct ZIP Code in the stub and appears before or after the ZIP Codes for the reported State depending on its rank relative to ZIP Codes in the State. ZIP Codes for each State are displayed in ascending order.
For the first time, the mailed city and mailed ZIP Code include the mailed State even when published in another State.
Geographic differences within State. More commonly, the reported State and the mailed State were the same, but the ZIP Code where the farm was physically located may have been different than the mailed ZIP Code. Since the census did not request that operators report the ZIP Code in which the farm was located, these cases cannot be identified in the tables. The mailed ZIP Code is the best available approximation of the physical location for farms published at the ZIP Code level.
Reasons for farm location outside mailed ZIP Code. Listed below are a few of the reasons mailed ZIP Codes may not correspond to the farm location.
For more than 150 years, the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, conducted the census of agriculture. However, the 1997 Appropriations Act transferred the responsibility from the Bureau of the Census to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The 1997 Census of Agriculture is the first census conducted by NASS.
The census of agriculture is taken to obtain agricultural statistics for each county, State, and the Nation. The first agriculture census was taken in 1840 as part of the sixth decennial census of population. From 1840 to 1950, the agriculture census was taken as part of the decennial census. A separate mid-decade census of agriculture was conducted in 1925, 1935, and 1945. From 1954 to 1974, a census of agriculture was taken for the years ending in 4 and 9. In 1976, Congress authorized the census of agriculture to be taken for 1978 and 1982 to adjust the data reference year so that it coincided with other economic censuses. This adjustment in timing established the agriculture census on a 5-year cycle collecting data for years ending in 2 and 7.
The census of agriculture is the leading source of statistics about the Nation's agricultural production and the only source of consistent, comparable data at the county, State, and National levels. Census statistics are used by Congress to develop and change farm programs, study historical trends, assess current conditions, and plan for the future. Many National and State programs use census data to design and allocate funding for extension service projects, agricultural research, soil conservation programs, and land-grant colleges and universities. Private industry uses census statistics to provide a more effective production and distribution system for the agricultural community.
The census of agriculture is required by law under the "Census of Agriculture Act of 1997," Public Law 105-113 (Title 7, United States Code, Section 2204 g). The law directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a census of agriculture in 1998 and in every fifth year after, covering the prior year. The census of agriculture includes each State, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
The definition of a farm for census purposes was first established in 1850. It has been changed nine times since. The current definition, first used for the 1974 census, is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year. The farm definition used for each US territory varies. The report for each territory includes a discussion of its farm definition.
Most data are comparable between the 1997 and 1992 censuses. A few important changes for the 1997 census may affect comparability for some data. Farms with all acreage in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) are included as farms in the 1997 census tabulations. For the 1992 census, farms that had all their acreage in the CRP or WRP were not included in the census tabulations.
For the 1997 census, farms were classified according to the new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Due to NAICS, short rotation woody crops, which includes Christmas trees and maple sap gathering, are considered crop production. Emus, ostriches, and rhea are now tabulated in other poultry. In previous agriculture censuses, farms were classified by the Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC).
Items removed from the 1997 census:
Land diverted under annual commodity adjustment programs
Commodity Credit Corporation loans for honey and rye
Dollar values for expenses and agricultural product sales are expressed in current dollars and are not adjusted for inflation or deflation.
Inventories of livestock, poultry, and machinery and equipment are measured as of December 31 of the census year. Crop and livestock production, sales, expenses, income from federal farm programs, irrigation, Commodity Credit Corporation loans, Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs, direct sales, chemicals and fertilizer, farm-related income and hired workers are measured for the calendar year, except for a few crops (such as citrus, avocados, and olives) for which the production year overlaps the calendar year.
In keeping with the provisions of Title 7 of the United States Code, no data are published that would disclose the operations of an individual farm. However, the number of farms reporting an item is not considered a release of confidential information and is provided even though other information may be withheld.
Special studies, such as the 1998 Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey and the 1998 Census of Horticultural Specialties, are part of the census program. These special studies are for reference year 1998.
Custom-designed tabulations can be developed to individual user specifications on a cost-reimbursable basis. Inquiries about special tabulations should be directed to the National Agricultural Statistics Service by phone on 1-800-727-9540 or by e-mail at nass@nass.usda.gov
The 1997 Census of Agriculture is available on three different media: 1) printed reports, 2) CD-ROM, and 3) the Internet. The NASS home page is located at www.usda.gov/nass/.
The following abbreviations
and symbols are used throughout the tables: - Represents zero. (D) Withheld
to avoid disclosing data for individual farms. (NA) Not available. (X) Not applicable.
For further information on agricultural statistics by ZIP Code contact Joe Miller
at 202-720-3844. Fax 202-690-8750 e-mail address joseph_miller@nass.usda.gov