Statistical Monitoring of Livestock Production in Siberia in the 1930s.

Abstract

The author reconstructs the statistical monitoring system of main livestock types of farm animals in Siberia in the 1930s. In the previous decade, the main technique of livestock estimation was selective agricultural census. Census was conducted by the method of survey. In the early 1930s, the state statistical organization based on principles of zemstvo statistics was rejected. External monitoring by statistical services was replaced by departmental accounting. It has been established that radical restructuring led to a significant deterioration in the quality of livestock statistics. A livestock monitoring system, which objectively reflected its dynamics and shifts in the organizational and production structure, was established in the second half of the 1930s. The main way to determine the quantitative parameters of livestock farming was through continuous censuses of livestock. Censuses were carried out by the method of counting farm animals in each agricultural enterprise and individual farm. It is concluded that Soviet statistics in the second half of the 1930s was reliable and representative in determining the dynamics of livestock.