02 October 2020
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) would like to remind farmers to complete and return their Census of Agriculture forms now as the deadline has passed.
The CSO would like to thank the thousands of farmers who have already completed and returned their form. Farmers who have not yet completed the census will be receiving a reminder letter this week from the CSO to do so.
Answering the Census of Agriculture should take only a few minutes, as the form has been reduced to four-pages. We have also made it easier for you to complete the form as you can either complete the four-page form and return it in the freepost envelope provided by the CSO or fill out the questionnaire online.
Under the Statistics Act 1993, the information provided by farmers to the CSO will be strictly confidential and will only be used for statistical purposes.
Speaking about the Census of Agriculture, CSO statistician, Cathal Doherty, said: ‘The Census of Agriculture questionnaire was issued early in September and we would like to thank all those who have completed and returned their questionnaire. We are asking farmers who have yet to return the questionnaire to do so now. You have the option to complete the paper form and return it using the freepost envelope or to complete it online using your unique login details that will arrive by post this week.
The Census of Agriculture was first collected in Ireland in 1847 and is collected every 10 years to provide benchmark statistics on the number of farms in Ireland and their structure in terms of farm enterprise. This information will be of great value to the farming community and it forms part of an EU-wide programme of farm censuses being conducted this year.
For every farm, your participation in the Census of Agriculture matters. Your response to the census is confidential and will be used only for statistical purposes.’
The CSO would like to thank all farmers in advance for their expected and continued engagement with the Census of Agriculture and other CSO Agriculture surveys.
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