Agricultural data can be dated back to 1861. Between then and the mid 1950s, agricultural statistics were regularly collected by government agencies. From 1955-56 until 1987 a full postal census was conducted annually. Between 1987 and 1996, full censuses were conducted in 1990 and 1994, and sample surveys of agricultural production were conducted in the years between censuses. There were no surveys of agricultural production in 1997 and 1998. A sample survey of farms predominantly involved in livestock farming was conducted in 1999. In 2000 a full coverage survey of all farms involved in horticultural activity was conducted. There was no survey of agricultural production in 2001. The reinstatement of the Agriculture Statistics programme in 2001 saw the taking of an Agricultural Production Census in 2002. Coverage included farms involved in livestock, cropping, horticulture and forestry. This survey was the first in an on-going programme of censuses and surveys undertaken by Statistics NZ in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and since 2012, the Ministry for Primary Industries. The Agricultural Production Statistics have one yearly collection with two releases. The first release in mid-December has provisional data, with the final data released mid-May the following year.