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Abstract
Each year, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts the June Area Survey (JAS), which is based on an area frame. The JAS provides information on U.S. agriculture, including an estimate of the number of farms in the U.S. NASS also conducts the Census of Agriculture every five years in years ending in 2 and 7. The census, which uses both a list and the JAS area frame, also produces an estimate of the number of U.S. farms. In 2007, the two estimates were further apart than could be attributed to sampling error alone. Previous studies of the JAS identified misclassification of JAS sampled units as a source leading to an undercount in the number of farms in the U.S. Using data from the 2007 JAS and the 2007 Census, misclassification of tracts as agricultural or non-agricultural were identified. Research has also identified the estimation of agricultural activities for sampled tracts as another factor that contributes to the discrepancy in the JAS number of farms estimate. This research report presents methodology that adjusts for two known sources of error on the JAS: misclassification and estimation (which later will be addressed as non-response).