Introduction 
The Ranking of Congressional Districts report presents selected statistics ranked by congressional districts 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. 
 
Purpose
 
Data are presented by congressional district for all States, except Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming, which are "at large" States. The State total is presented for these seven States. The statistics presented in this report include:
* Operator characteristics 
* Farm characteristics 
* Selected livestock 
* Selected crops harvested
 
How Farms Were Assigned to Congressional Districts
 
The census of agriculture asked farm operators to report the principal State and county of agricultural activity for the farm operation, but not the congressional district. For this report, farms were assigned to congressional districts according to the reported State and county of agricultural activity. Approximately 1.9 million farms (98 percent) were assigned to the appropriate congressional district by a computer algorithm. However, about 22,000 farms (less than two percent) had to be manually assigned because the correct congressional district was not readily apparent. The majority of these 22,000 farm operations were located in counties that contained multiple congressional districts. The respondent resided in a county different from the farm, and that county also contained multiple congressional districts. Several factors were used to determine the most likely district to assign these farms. These factors included land area size, presence of urban or rural land, and other relevant information.

History
 
For more than 150 years, the U.S. 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 U.S. 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. 
Census Uses 
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 to 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. 

Authority and Area Covered
 
The census of agriculture is authorized by the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997, Public Law 105-113 (Title 7, United States Code, Section 2204g). 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 U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. 

Related Information
 
Detailed census of agriculture information on commodities; farm operator characteristics; gross sales; expenditures; use of chemicals, fertilizers, and irrigation; land use; ownership; and tenure of operator is available at the county, State, and national level. The information is in printed and electronic formats (CD-ROM). For more information, call 1-800-727-9540. Please visit our website at http://www.nass.usda.gov for additional information on the 1997 Census of Agriculture. 

General Terms
 
Farm - 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. Federal farm program payments are regarded as sales for the purpose of definitional eligibility. 

Farms by principal occupation of operator - Data on principal occupation were requested from all operators. The principal occupation classifications used were: 

* Farming - The operator spent 50 percent or more of his/her worktime in farming or ranching.
* Other - The operator spent more than 50 percent of his/her worktime in occupations other than farming or ranching. 

Farms by tenure of operator - All farms were classified by tenure of operator. The classifications used were as follows: 

* Full owners - operated only land they owned. 
* Part owners - operated land they owned and also land they rented from others. 
* Tenants - operated only land they rented from others or worked on shares for others. 
* Farms by type of organization - All farms were classified by type of organization in the 1997 census. 

The classifications used were as follows:

* Individual or family (sole proprietorship), excluding partnership and corporation. 
* Partnership, including family partnership. 
* Corporation, including family corporation—further sub-classified into the following two categories: | 

1. Family held or other than family held 

2. More than 10 stockholders or less than 10 stockholders 

* Other, cooperative, estate or trust, institutional, etc. 1997 Census of Agriculture 5

Government payments - This category consists of direct cash payments received by the farm operator in 1997. It includes disaster payments; transition payments from prior participation; payments from Conservation Reserve Programs, the Wetlands Reserve Programs, and other conservation programs; and all other federal farm programs under which payments were made directly to farm operators.

Harvested cropland - This category includes land from which crops were harvested or hay was cut, and land in orchards, citrus groves, Christmas trees, vineyards, nurseries, and greenhouses. Land from which two or more crops were harvested was counted only once. Land in tapped maple trees is included in woodland not pastured. 

Land in farms - The acreage designated as "land in farms" consists primarily of agricultural land used for crops, pasture, or grazing. It also includes woodland and wasteland not actually under cultivation or used for pasture or grazing, provided it was part of the farm operator's total operation. Large acreages of woodland or wasteland held for nonagricultural purposes were deleted from individual reports during the processing operations. Land in farms includes acres in the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs. 

Land in farms is an operating unit concept and includes land owned and operated as well as land rented from others. Land used rent free was to be reported as land rented from others. All grazing land, except land used under government permits on a per-head basis, was included as "land in farms" provided it was part of a farm or ranch. Land under the exclusive use of a grazing association was to be reported by the grazing association and included as land in farms. All land in American Indian reservations used for growing crops or grazing livestock was to be included as land in farms. Land in reservations not reported by individual American Indians or non-Native Americans was to be reported in the name of the cooperative group that used the land. In many instances, an entire American Indian reservation was reported as one farm. 

Market value of agricultural products sold - This category represents the gross market value before taxes and production expenses of all agricultural products sold or removed from the place in 1997 regardless of who received the payment. It includes sales by the operator as well as the value of any shares received by partners, landlords, contractors, or others associated with the operation. In addition, it includes receipts from placing commodities in the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan program in 1997. It does not include payments received for participation in other federal farm programs nor does it include income from farm-related sources such as customwork and other agricultural services, or income from nonfarm sources.

The value of crops sold in 1997 does not necessarily represent the sales from crops harvested in 1997. Data may include sales from crops produced in earlier years and may exclude some crops produced in 1997 but held in storage and not sold. For commodities such as sugar beets and wool sold through a co-op which made payments in several installments, respondents were requested to report the total value received in 1997. The value of agricultural products sold was requested of all operators. If the operator failed to report this information, estimates were made based on the amount of crops harvested, livestock or poultry inventory, or number sold. Extensive estimation was required for operators growing crops or livestock under contract. 

Caution should be used when comparing sales in 1997 with sales reported in earlier censuses. Sales figures are expressed in current dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation or deflation. 

Operator - The term operator designates a person who operates a farm, either doing the work or making day-to-day decisions about such things as planting, harvesting, feeding, and marketing. The operator may be the owner, a member of the owner's household, a hired manager, a tenant, a renter, or a sharecropper. If a person rents land to others or has land worked on shares by others, he/she is considered the operator only of the land which is retained for his/her own operation. For partnerships, only one partner is counted as the operator. If it is not clear which partner is in charge, then the senior or oldest active partner is considered the operator.

Operators of Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin - No imputation was made for those not responding to the question on Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin. Operators of Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino origin are found in all of the racial groups listed in the census and were tabulated according to the race reported. 

Symbols 
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual farms