07 August 2020
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has announced that the Census of Agriculture 2020 will be collected in September. The farm census had been due to take place in June but was postponed due to the initial disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
About 140,000 farms will receive the Census of Agriculture questionnaire by post in the first week of September. The four-page form will ask about the farm situation on the first of September, with questions about land use, livestock and farm management.
Speaking about the Census of Agriculture, CSO statistician Cathal Doherty said: ‘The Census of Agriculture is collected every ten years, to provide benchmark statistics on the number of farms in Ireland and the structure in terms of farm enterprise. This is part of an EU-wide programme of farm censuses being conducted this year.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, when we had to defer the census, we worked on simplifying the information we are requesting from farmers. The survey form has been reduced from eight to four pages. As well as a paper questionnaire, we will also be providing an online response option. We hope that these changes reduce the burden and make it easier for farmers to answer the census of agriculture.
With fewer questions in the form being sent to all farms, the CSO will also conduct a sample survey at the end of 2020, on farm labour, animal housing and manure management.’
As we get closer to Tuesday, 01 September, the CSO will provide more information on the forthcoming Census of Agriculture.'
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