Agricultural Production Survey Frames: Changes over time, issues, and challenges

New Zealand has a long history of producing official statistics on agricultural, horticultural, and forestry production. Having a good population or survey frame is a key factor enabling the collection and production of quality statistics. Several population frames have been used over time for agricultural production censuses and surveys. These include land based frames, administrative registers, farmer and grower lists, and combinations of these. This paper discusses the frame currently used and earlier frames and associated challenges, including: the transition from a land based to administrative frame, coverage issues, frame updating, and issues when comparing statistics based on different frames. The paper discusses frames used for the production of other official agricultural and forestry statistics.