Census of Horticultural Specialties

Description

The Census of Horticultural Specialties collects information to provide a comprehensive and detailed picture of the horticultural sector of the U.S. economy. It is the only source of detailed production and sales data for floriculture, nursery, and specialty crops for the entire United States.

Detailed Methodology

Sample

The Census of Horticultural Specialties (CHS) was designed to cover all operations from which $10,000 or more of horticultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the reference year. Horticultural products include annual bedding/garden plants, potted flowering plants, cut flowers, cut cultivated florist greens, trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, fruit and nut trees, sod, dry bulbs, greenhouse produced vegetables, commercial vegetable transplants, vegetable and flower seeds, Christmas trees, short rotation woody crops, aquatic plants, unfinished or prefinished plants, propagation materials, and other nursery or greenhouse plants.

Method of Data Collection

Survey (self- or interviewer-administered)

Frequency of Data Collection

Every five years

Reference Date

Last year/last 12 months

Number of Cases

Varies by year, appoximately 12,000 records

Number of Variables

Varies by year, approximately 3,500 variables

Linkage Capabilities

Linking at an operation level over time cannot be accomplished using the Horticulture Survey data or Census of Agriculture due to the methodology used to sample the survey.