County-Level Livestock Census Estimates for the Contiguous United States
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Description
1990 livestock census estimates for counties in the contiguous United States provide counts for cattle, poultry, hogs, horses, and sheep. The data was derived from USDA NRCS and US Census Bureau sources, averaged from 1987 and 1992 surveys. It was assembled by SCIOPS in the mid-1990s for agro-ecosystem modeling.
Use Cases
Model greenhouse gas emissions from livestock using county-level cattle and hog counts as input variables for agro-ecosystem models.
Analyze regional agricultural intensity by comparing poultry and sheep population densities across US counties.
Study historical livestock distribution patterns by mapping estimated horse and cattle counts for 1990.
Assess the relationship between livestock populations and other agricultural factors by joining this dataset with companion datasets on crop data and soil properties.
Strengths
Data covers the entire contiguous United States at the county level.
Provides estimates for five distinct livestock types: cattle, poultry, hogs, horses, and sheep.
Derived from authoritative national databases (USDA NRCS and US Census Bureau).
Limitations
Data is a single-year estimate (1990) based on averaging 1987 and 1992 data, lacking annual time series.
The exact row count, column details, and sample size are unknown.
Data is temporally stale, representing conditions from over 30 years ago.
Provenance
Source
US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service and US Census Bureau.
Collection Method
Estimated counts derived from publicly available national census databases, averaged from 1987 and 1992 surveys.
Time Range
1990 (estimate based on 1987-1992 data).
Geography
Counties within the contiguous United States.
This dataset is one of seven related county-level datasets; joins likely require a common county identifier key.