Agricultural Water Survey - 2020

Why are we conducting this survey?

The Agricultural Water Survey is conducted to gather information on water use, irrigation methods and practices, and sources and quality of water used for agricultural purposes. This survey is part of the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program. The data collected will be used in CESI's reporting activities and to inform water use policy and development of programs for Canadian irrigators. Statistics Canada will also use the survey results to report on total water use by sector in Canada.

Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

Although voluntary, your participation is important so that the information collected is as accurate and complete as possible.

Other important information

Authorization to collect this information

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

Confidentiality

By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine the acquired data with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

Contact us if you have any questions or concerns about record linkage:

Email: infostats@statcan.gc.ca

Telephone: 1-877-949-9492

Mail:
Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Enterprise Statistics Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

Data-sharing agreements

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Enterprise Statistics Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

You may also contact the Statistics Canada Help Desk- this link will open in a new window by email statcan.esdhelpdesk-dsebureaudedepannage.statcan@statcan.gc.ca or by fax at 613-951-6583.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Institut de la statistique du Québec, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development.

For agreements with provincial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province.

Reporting instructions

  • When precise figures are not available, provide your best estimates.
  • Percentages should be rounded to whole numbers
  • Enter '0' if there is no value to report

Who should complete this questionnaire?

This questionnaire should be completed by the person that has good knowledge of the irrigation activities practiced on this farm.

Deadline for completing this questionnaire

Please complete this questionnaire and submit it within 14 days of receipt.

Printing your completed questionnaire

You can print this questionnaire once you have completed and submitted it.

Business or organization and contact information

1. Verify or provide the business or organization's legal and operating name and correct where needed.

Note: Legal name modifications should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

Legal Name

The legal name is one recognized by law, thus it is the name liable for pursuit or for debts incurred by the business or organization. In the case of a corporation, it is the legal name as fixed by its charter or the statute by which the corporation was created.

Modifications to the legal name should only be done to correct a spelling error or typo.

To indicate a legal name of another legal entity you should instead indicate it in question 3 by selecting 'Not currently operational' and then choosing the applicable reason and providing the legal name of this other entity along with any other requested information.

Operating Name

The operating name is a name the business or organization is commonly known as if different from its legal name. The operating name is synonymous with trade name.

2. Verify or provide the contact information of the designated business or organization contact person for this questionnaire and correct where needed.

Note: The designated contact person is the person who should receive this questionnaire. The designated contact person may not always be the one who actually completes the questionnaire.

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Title
  • Preferred language of communication
    • English
    • French
  • Mailing address (number and street)
  • City
  • Province, territory or state
  • Postal code or ZIP code
  • Country
    • Canada
    • United States
  • Email address
  • Telephone number (including area code)
  • Extension number (if applicable)
    The maximum number of characters is 5.
  • Fax number (including area code)

3. Please verify or provide the current operational status of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

  • Operational
  • Not currently operational
    Why is this business or organization not currently operational?
    • Seasonal operations
      • When did this business or organization close for the season?
        • Date
      • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
        • Date
    • Ceased operations
      • When did this business or organization cease operations?
        • Date
      • Why did this business or organization cease operations?
        • Bankruptcy
        • Liquidation
        • Dissolution
        • Other - Specify the other reasons for ceased operations
    • Sold operations
      • When was this business or organization sold?
        • Date
      • What is the legal name of the buyer?
    • Amalgamated with other businesses or organizations
      • When did this business or organization amalgamate?
        • Date
      • What is the legal name of the resulting or continuing business or organization?
      • What are the legal names of the other amalgamated businesses or organizations?
    • Temporarily inactive but will re-open
      • When did this business or organization become temporarily inactive?
        • Date
      • When does this business or organization expect to resume operations?
        • Date
      • Why is this business or organization temporarily inactive?
    • No longer operating due to other reasons
      • When did this business or organization cease operations?
        • Date
      • Why did this business or organization cease operations?

4. Verify or provide the current main activity of the business or organization identified by the legal and operating name above.

Note: The described activity was assigned using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

This question verifies the business or organization's current main activity as classified by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is an industry classification system developed by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Created against the background of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it is designed to provide common definitions of the industrial structure of the three countries and a common statistical framework to facilitate the analysis of the three economies. NAICS is based on supply-side or production-oriented principles, to ensure that industrial data, classified to NAICS, are suitable for the analysis of production-related issues such as industrial performance.

The target entity for which NAICS is designed are businesses and other organizations engaged in the production of goods and services. They include farms, incorporated and unincorporated businesses and government business enterprises. They also include government institutions and agencies engaged in the production of marketed and non-marketed services, as well as organizations such as professional associations and unions and charitable or non-profit organizations and the employees of households.

The associated NAICS should reflect those activities conducted by the business or organizational units targeted by this questionnaire only, as identified in the 'Answering this questionnaire' section and which can be identified by the specified legal and operating name. The main activity is the activity which most defines the targeted business or organization's main purpose or reason for existence. For a business or organization that is for-profit, it is normally the activity that generates the majority of the revenue for the entity.

The NAICS classification contains a limited number of activity classifications; the associated classification might be applicable for this business or organization even if it is not exactly how you would describe this business or organization's main activity.

Description and examples

  • This is the current main activity.
  • This is not the current main activity.
    Please provide a brief but precise description of this business or organization's main activity.
    e.g., breakfast cereal manufacturing, shoe store, software development

Main activity

5. You indicated that is not the current main activity. Was this business or organization's main activity ever classified as: {specified activity}?

  • Yes
  • No
    When did the main activity change?
    Date

6. Search and select the industry classification code that best corresponds to this business or organization's main activity.
Select this business or organization's activity sector (optional)

  • Farming or logging operation
  • Construction company or general contractor
  • Manufacturer
  • Wholesaler
  • Retailer
  • Provider of passenger or freight transportation
  • Provider of investment, savings or insurance products
  • Real estate agency, real estate brokerage or leasing company
  • Provider of professional, scientific or technical services
  • Provider of health care or social services
  • Restaurant, bar, hotel, motel or other lodging establishment
  • Other sector

Crops

1. Which of the following crops did this operation produce or grow during the 20XX season?

Exclude:

  • land rented or leased to others
  • summerfallow
  • Christmas trees
  • greenhouses, nurseries and sod operations.

Select all that apply.

  • Forage crops
    • Include hay, improved pasture and silage
  • Field crops
    • Include potatoes
  • Fruit crops
    • Include all berries
  • Vegetable crops
    • Exclude potatoes

OR

  • Did not produce or grow any of the above crops during the 20XX season

Irrigated Crops

2. Did this operation irrigate forage crops during the 20XX season?

Irrigation is defined as applying water to the soil to assist the growing of crops in dry areas during periods of inadequate rainfall, to prevent soil compaction or erosion, or to protect plants against frost.

Include hay, improved pasture and silage.

Exclude land rented or leased to others

  • Yes
  • No

3. Did this operation irrigate field crops during the 20XX season?

Irrigation is defined as applying water to the soil to assist the growing of crops in dry areas during periods of inadequate rainfall, to prevent soil compaction or erosion, or to protect plants against frost.

Include potatoes.

Exclude land rented or leased to others

  • Yes
  • No

4. Did this operation irrigate fruit crops during the 20XX season?

Irrigation is defined as applying water to the soil to assist the growing of crops in dry areas during periods of inadequate rainfall, to prevent soil compaction or erosion, or to protect plants against frost.

Include all berries.

Exclude land rented or leased to others

  • Yes
  • No

5. Did this operation irrigate vegetable crops during the 20XX season?

Irrigation is defined as applying water to the soil to assist the growing of crops in dry areas during periods of inadequate rainfall, to prevent soil compaction or erosion, or to protect plants against frost.

Exclude

  • land rented or leased to others
  • potatoes
  • Yes
  • No

6. During the 20XX season, what were the reasons this operation was unable to irrigate?

Exclude land rented or leased to others

Select all that apply.

  • Shortage of on-farm surface water
    • Include lakes, rivers, creeks or streams, ponds or dugouts.
  • Shortage of on-farm underground water or well water
    • Include shallow wells and deep wells.
  • Poor water quality
  • High cost of obtaining water
    • E.g., cost of deliver, cost of fuel to operate pumps, cost of installing irrigation system
  • Irrigation ban
  • Equipment breakdown
  • Lack or personnel
  • Other
    • Specify other reason

OR

  • Nothing prevented this operation from irrigating

Units of measure

7. What are the units of measure that will be used to report the land areas and quantity of water used for irrigation throughout the questionnaire?

Land areas

  • Acres
  • Hectares
  • Arpents

Quantity of water used for irrigation

  • Inches (in)
  • Millimeters (mm)
  • Imperial gallons (imp. gal.)
  • U.S. gallons (U.S. gal)
  • Litres (L)
  • Cubic metres (m³)
  • Total acre-feet
  • Acres_feet per acre
  • Imperial gallons per acre
  • U.S. gallons per acre

Forage crops

8. What area of land was irrigation applied to for forage crops during the 20XX season?

Report the areas only once, even if more than one forage crop will be grown in the same area.

Include hay, improved pasture and silage.

Exclude land rented or leased to others.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate

Total irrigated land area for forage crops:

9. How many acres of forage crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?

Specify the total irrigated area for forage crops that received irrigation during the 20XX season.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate.

How many acres of forage crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?
  20XX Irrigated land area 20XX Quantity of water used
April 20XX    
May 20XX    
June 20XX    
July 20XX    
August 20XX    
September 20XX    
October 20XX    
Total  

10. What irrigation methods were used to irrigate forage crops during the 20XX season?

Select all that apply.

  • Sprinkler irrigation
    • Include hand move; solid or permanent set; side roll; wheel line, wheel move or wheel roll; traveller, volume gun, travelling gunwalker, overhead or circular; linear move; and centre pivot.
  • Micro-irrigation
    • Include surface drip, sub-surface drip, micro-sprinklers, bubblers, micro jets and hand watering.
  • Surface irrigation
    • Include down rows, furrows, corrugations, border dyke, level basins, uncontrolled flooding and back flooding. Exclude surface drip irrigation.

Field crops

11. What area of land was irrigation applied to for field crops during the 20XX season?

Report the areas only once, even if more than one forage crop will be grown in the same area.

Include potatoes.

Exclude land rented or leased to others.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate.

Total irrigated land area for field crops:

12. How many acres of field crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?

Specify the total irrigated area for field crops that received irrigation during the 20XX season.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate.

How many acres of field crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?
  20XX Irrigated land area 20XX Quantity of water used
April 20XX    
May 20XX    
June 20XX    
July 20XX    
August 20XX    
September 20XX    
October 20XX    
Total  

13. What irrigation methods were used to irrigate field crops during the 20XX season?

Select all that apply.

  • Sprinkler irrigation
    • Include hand move; solid or permanent set; side roll; wheel line, wheel move or wheel roll; traveller, volume gun, travelling gun, walker, overhead or circular; linear move; and centre pivot.
  • Micro-irrigation
    • Include surface drip, sub-surface drip, micro-sprinklers, bubblers, micro jets and hand watering.
  • Surface irrigation
    • Include down rows, furrows, corrugations, border dyke, level basins, uncontrolled flooding and back flooding. Exclude surface drip irrigation.

Fruit crops

14. What area of land was irrigation applied to for fruit crops during the 20XX season?

Report the areas only once, even if more than one field crop will be grown in the same area.

Include all berries.

Exclude land rented or leased to others.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate

Total irrigated land area for field crops:

15. How many acres of fruit crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?

Specify the total irrigated area for fruit crops that received irrigation during the 20XX season.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate.

How many acres of fruit crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?
  20XX Irrigated land area 20XX Quantity of water used
April 20XX    
May 20XX    
June 20XX    
July 20XX    
August 20XX    
September 20XX    
October 20XX    
Total  

16. What irrigation methods were used to irrigate fruit crops during the 20XX season?

Select all that apply.

  • Sprinkler irrigation
    • Include hand move; solid or permanent set; side roll; wheel line, wheel move or wheel roll; traveller, volume gun, travelling gun, walker, overhead or circular; linear move; and centre pivot.
  • Micro-irrigation
    • Include surface drip, sub-surface drip, micro-sprinklers, bubblers, micro jets and hand watering.
  • Surface irrigation
    • Include down rows, furrows, corrugations, border dyke, level basins, uncontrolled flooding and back flooding. Exclude surface drip irrigation.

Vegetable crops

17. What area of land was irrigation applied to for vegetable crops during the 20XX season?

Report the areas only once, even if more than one vegetable crop will be grown in the same area.

Exclude

  • land rented or leased to others.
  • Potatoes.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate

Total irrigated land area for vegetable crops:

18. How many acres of vegetable crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?

Specify the total irrigated area for vegetable crops that received irrigation during the 20XX season.

When exact figures are not available, please provide your best estimate.

How many acres of vegetable crops was irrigation applied to for the following months?
  20XX Irrigated land area 20XX Quantity of water used
April 20XX    
May 20XX    
June 20XX    
July 20XX    
August 20XX    
September 20XX    
October 20XX    
Total  

19. What irrigation methods were used to irrigate forage crops during the 20XX season?
Select all that apply.

  • Sprinkler irrigation
    • Include hand move; solid or permanent set; side roll; wheel line, wheel move or wheel roll; traveller, volume gun, travelling gun, walker, overhead or circular; linear move; and centre pivot.
  • Micro-irrigation
    • Include surface drip, sub-surface drip, micro-sprinklers, bubblers, micro jets and hand watering.
  • Surface irrigation
    • Include down rows, furrows, corrugations, border dyke, level basins, uncontrolled flooding and back flooding. Exclude surface drip irrigation.

Summary

20. This is a summary of this operation's total irrigated area and quantity of water used during the 20XX season.

This is a summary of this operation's total irrigated area and quantity of water used during the 20XX season.
  20XX Irrigated land area 20XX Quantity of water used
a. Forage crops    
b. Field crops    
c. Fruit crops    
d. Vegetable crops    
Total    

Irrigation practices and water sources

21. Of all the water used for irrigation during the 20XX season, what percentage came from each of the following?

Of all the water used for irrigation during the 20XX season, what percentage came from each of the following?
  20XX Percentage
a. On-farm, underground water or well water
  • Include shallow wells and deep wells.
  
b. On-farm lakes, rivers, creeks or streams, ponds or dugouts.
i.e., direct access (surface water)		  
c. Off-farm water transported to the farm.
e.g., via pipeline, canal system or vehicle, including municipal water and any surface water located off-farm		  
d. Other
  • Specify
  
Total  

Off-farm water transported to the farm

22. Of all the off-farmwater used for irrigation during the 20XX season, what percentage came from each of the following?

Of all the off-farmwater used for irrigation during the 20XX season, what percentage came from each of the following?
  20XX Percentage
a. Tap water  
b. Treated wastewater  
c. Provincial water sources
e.g., irrigation district, irrigation project		  
d. Private sources  
e. Other
  • Specify other source
  
Total  

23. Why did this operation need to obtain water from an off-farm source during the 20XX season?

Select all that apply

  • No water or not enough water available on the farm for irrigation
  • Poor quality of on-farm water for irrigation
  • Equipment breakdown
  • Other
    • Specify other reason

Water and energy conservation practices

24. Which of the following practices were used during the 20XX season to conserve water or energy?

Select all that apply

  • Wind breaks
    • e.g., fences, tree lines, hedges
  • Leaving stubble on fields
    • E.g., minimum tillage, direct seeding
  • Watering at night or in the morning
  • Pressure reduction
  • Water or energy saving nozzles
  • Incorporating compost or other material into soil to increase soil water retention
  • Other
    • Specify other practice

OR

  • No water or energy saving practices were used during the 20XX season

Crops

25. Did this operation ever produce or grow forage, field, fruit or vegetable crops in previous seasons?

  • Yes
  • No

Irrigated crops

26. Did this operation apply irrigation to any of its crops in previous seasons?

Irrigation is defined as applying water to the soil to assist the growing of crops in dry areas during periods of inadequate rainfall, to prevent soil compaction or erosion, or to protect plants against frost.

  • Yes
  • No

Changes or events

27. Indicate any changes or evens that affected the reported values for this operation compared with the last reporting period.

Select all that apply

  • Strike or lock-out
  • Natural disaster
  • Acquisition of business or business units
  • Other
    • Specify the other changes or events

OR

  • No changes or events

Contact person

28. Statistics Canada may need to contact the person who completed this questionnaire for further information.

Is the respondent given names and respondent family names the best person to contact?

  • Yes
  • No

Who is the best person to contact about this questionnaire?

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Title
  • Email address
  • Telephone number (including area code)
  • Extension number (if applicable)
  • Fax number (including area code)

Feedback

29. How long did it take to complete this questionnaire?

Include the time spent gathering the necessary information.

  • Hours
  • Minutes

30. Do you have any comments about this questionnaire?

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