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Unlocking Data Resources
While Protecting Confidentiality

Welcome to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Data Lab web site.

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picture of small key Our mission is to provide data for research and analysis not available elsewhere while protecting the confidentiality of our respondents. Data are provided through Special Tabulations.

What are Special Tabulations?

Special Tabulations are publishable, resummarized data tables from the Census of Agriculture or NASS surveys. Requests for Special Tabulations are considered when the requested data are not published elsewhere.

NASS conducts the Census of Agriculture (every 5 years) and other surveys (annually) to collect information related to agriculture production, inventories, fertilizer use, expenditures, etc. Reports are published for the Census and agriculture surveys.

The Special Tabulations differ from NASS published reports in the following ways:

  • Output is limited to a specific analytic purpose.
  • Output is customized to a specific request.
  • Many Special Tabulations are based on a statistical model or a specified set of assumptions. Tables using these assumptions are derived from the Census of Agriculture or NASS surveys and, when published, carry the appropriate disclaimers.
  • Some output is longitudinal and used to track census/survey to census/survey changes and to make comparisons over time. These data sets are not complete, being limited to reports meeting specific criteria.

Special Tabulations can only be made from information in the original Census of Agriculture questionnaire, which for 2002 is http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/reportforms/02a0214.pdf , although less common crops are not specifically listed on this version of the questionnaire. 

If you have questions, you can contact the NASS Data Lab at 202-690-0380 or 202-690-0360.

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    Protecting Confidentiality

    All Special Tabulations are subject to a thorough disclosure review prior to release to prevent the disclosure of any individual data. Since Special Tabulations are unique and beyond traditional NASS releases, rules and regulations to prevent disclosure are applied to prevent even the perception of disclosure.

    Cost

    The minimum charge is $500 for a simple Special Tabulation. Fees for larger and more complex Special Tabulations are $500 per staff-day for the required number of days to complete the tabulation and disclosure review.

    Published Data Resources

    Special Tabulations are completed for requests where the data are not published. The Census Volume 1 on CD-ROM and the Published Estimates Data Base are two other data resources that should be investigated before requesting a Special Tabulation. The reports, in PDF formats, related to these resources can be accessed from the Census of Agriculture and Publications, Reports by Commodity pages.

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