Sp Sy 8 (5-09) Farm Labor National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released May 22, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Farm Labor" call Mark Aitken at 202-720-6146, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Hired Workers Down 2 Percent, Wage Rates up 3 Percent From a Year Ago There were 903,000 hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of April 12-18, 2009, down 2 percent from a year ago. Of these hired workers, 680,000 workers were hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 223,000 workers. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $10.84 per hour during the April 2009 reference week, up 27 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $9.99 per hour, up 34 cents from last April, while livestock workers earned $10.25 per hour compared with $10.24 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $10.07 per hour, was up 23 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged 40.1 hours for hired workers during the survey week, down 2 percent from a year ago. The largest decreases in the number of hired workers from last year occurred in California and in the Corn Belt I (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio), Northeast II (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia), and Pacific (Oregon and Washington) regions. In California, below normal snowpack has led to serious cutbacks in available irrigation water. Therefore, considerable acreage has been left fallow, reducing the demand for field workers. Persistent rain and wet conditions in the Corn Belt I region curtailed most field activities, so fewer hired workers were required. In the Northeast II and Appalachian II regions, the cool, wet spring kept crop development behind normal, lessening the need for field workers. Small grain planting in the Pacific region was considerably behind the normal pace due to cool temperatures and wet soils. Therefore, field worker demand was lower than the previous year. The largest increases in the number of hired workers from last year occurred in the Southern Plains, (Oklahoma and Texas), Delta (Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina), Lake (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) and Mountain III (Arizona and New Mexico) regions. Declining pasture conditions in the Southern Plains region led to increased supplemental feeding and increased the demand for livestock workers. Also, cotton planting in southern Texas gained momentum, so more field workers were required. In the Delta region, continued strong demand from the nursery and greenhouse industries resulted in more hired workers. High demand from poultry operations in the Southeast region pushed worker numbers above last year. In the Lake region, drier conditions compared with last year's extremely wet reference week led to increased worker demand. Snowstorms in New Mexico caused livestock stress and more supplemental feeding in the Mountain III region. Also, cotton planting in Arizona was in full swing. These factors led to a greater need for hired workers. Hired worker wage rates were generally above a year ago in most regions. The largest increases occurred in the Pacific, Northeast II, Appalachian I (North Carolina and Virginia), Mountain I (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming), and Southern Plains regions. The higher wages in the Pacific region were due to more salaried workers working fewer hours. In the Northeast II region, a higher percentage of nursery and greenhouse workers caused the average wage to increase. The higher wages in the Appalachian I, Mountain I and Southern Plains regions were due to a lower proportion of part time workers. Farm Labor: Employment and Wage Rates, United States, April 12-18, 2009, with Comparisons 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 6-12, : January 11-17, : April 12-18, Farm Employment : 2008 : 2009 : 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : Hired Workers : 700 595 680 150 Days or More : 563 497 554 149 Days or Less : 137 98 126 : Agricultural Services : Workers Working on Farms : 219 190 223 : Hired Farm & Service Workers : 919 785 903 : : Hours per Week : Hours Worked : Hired : 40.8 38.3 40.1 : : Dollars per Hour : Wage Rate for : All Hired Workers 2/ 3/ : 10.57 10.93 10.84 : Type of Worker : Field & Livestock Combined : 9.84 10.08 10.07 Field : 9.65 9.96 9.99 Livestock : 10.24 10.27 10.25 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes AK. 2/ Benefits, such as housing and meals, are provided some workers but the values are not included in the wage rates. 3/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, April 12-18, 2009 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hired :--------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. : : Expected to be Employed : and : Number :-------------------------------: Number Region 2/ : of : 150 Days : 149 Days : of Hours : Workers : or More : or Less : Worked -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 -------------- Hours per Week : Northeast I : 32 26 6 41.1 Northeast II : 22 18 4 36.6 : Appalachian I : 28 25 3 37.4 Appalachian II : 21 15 6 36.4 : Southeast : 36 27 9 42.8 FL : 46 39 7 38.3 : Lake : 56 42 14 39.5 : Cornbelt I : 32 26 6 38.0 Cornbelt II : 22 17 5 31.8 : Delta : 33 25 8 36.3 : Northern Plains : 26 23 3 41.5 : Southern Plains : 62 53 9 40.7 : Mountain I : 20 18 2 42.5 Mountain II : 19 17 2 41.3 Mountain III : 20 19 1 45.2 : Pacific : 61 40 21 38.0 CA : 138 119 19 43.9 : HI : 6 5 1 36.8 : US 3/ : 680 554 126 40.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers by Region and United States, April 12-18, 2009 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Worker : U.S. :--------------------------------------------: Wage Rates for and : : :Field & Lvstk :All Hired Workers Region 2/ : Field : Livestock : Combined : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast I : 10.65 9.92 10.35 11.17 Northeast II : 10.60 8.86 9.95 11.10 : Appalachian I : 10.16 10.40 10.25 11.00 Appalachian II : 9.23 9.62 9.40 10.10 : Southeast : 8.80 9.84 9.00 9.22 FL : 9.15 9.35 9.17 10.33 : Lake : 10.92 10.83 10.88 11.55 : Cornbelt I : 10.93 10.44 10.72 11.70 Cornbelt II : 10.35 12.45 11.15 11.80 : Delta : 9.30 8.84 9.20 9.60 : Northern Plains : 10.78 10.08 10.35 10.80 : Southern Plains : 9.67 9.93 9.80 10.40 : Mountain I : 10.23 10.01 10.10 10.45 Mountain II : 9.68 10.09 9.90 10.60 Mountain III : 9.16 9.44 9.29 10.10 : Pacific : 10.67 12.09 10.80 11.55 CA : 9.96 10.85 10.14 11.07 : HI 3/ : 11.30 11.40 13.36 : US 4/ : 9.99 10.25 10.07 10.84 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Insufficient data for livestock. 4/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, January 11-17, 2009 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hired :--------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. : : Expected to be Employed : and : Number :-------------------------------: Number Region 2/ : of : 150 Days : 149 Days : of Hours : Workers : or More : or Less : Worked -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 ------------- Hours per Week : Northeast I : 26 22 4 41.3 Northeast II : 21 19 2 37.0 : Appalachian I : 22 20 2 35.9 Appalachian II : 17 12 5 31.0 : Southeast : 30 22 8 38.8 FL : 38 31 7 37.8 : Lake : 43 36 7 34.0 : Cornbelt I : 26 24 2 35.5 Cornbelt II : 20 16 4 34.0 : Delta : 27 21 6 30.7 : Northern Plains : 20 18 2 33.1 : Southern Plains : 65 55 10 40.4 : Mountain I : 15 13 2 40.0 Mountain II : 15 14 1 41.5 Mountain III : 20 18 2 49.7 : Pacific : 52 39 13 37.8 CA : 132 112 20 41.3 : HI : 6 5 1 37.9 : US 3/ : 595 497 98 38.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers by Region and United States, January 11-17, 2009 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Worker : U.S. :--------------------------------------------: Wage Rates for and : : :Field & Lvstk :All Hired Workers Region 2/ : Field : Livestock : Combined : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast I : 10.66 10.03 10.25 10.91 Northeast II : 10.80 9.69 10.30 11.40 : Appalachian I : 10.08 9.91 10.00 10.80 Appalachian II : 8.92 10.52 9.80 10.99 : Southeast : 9.65 9.65 9.65 10.05 FL : 8.95 9.45 9.00 10.16 : Lake : 10.83 9.96 10.20 11.02 : Cornbelt I : 11.85 10.85 11.30 11.90 Cornbelt II : 11.06 11.27 11.20 11.40 : Delta : 9.43 9.83 9.55 10.04 : Northern Plains : 10.29 10.53 10.42 10.90 : Southern Plains : 10.06 10.24 10.15 10.70 : Mountain I : 11.49 10.65 10.85 11.50 Mountain II : 9.37 8.90 9.05 10.32 Mountain III : 9.27 10.58 9.75 10.30 : Pacific : 10.35 9.48 10.25 11.40 CA : *9.80 10.95 *10.09 *11.15 : HI 3/ : 10.70 10.93 12.69 : US 4/ : 9.96 10.27 10.08 10.93 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Insufficient data for livestock. 4/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, April 6-12, 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hired :--------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. : : Expected to be Employed : and : Number :-------------------------------: Number Region 2/ : of : 150 Days : 149 Days : of Hours : Workers : or More : or Less : Worked -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 -------------- Hours per Week : Northeast I : 36 27 9 43.2 Northeast II : 31 24 7 35.8 : Appalachian I : 27 21 6 38.5 Appalachian II : 29 19 10 33.5 : Southeast : 25 19 6 37.2 FL : 51 45 6 41.5 : Lake : 52 39 13 39.0 : Cornbelt I : 44 34 10 37.5 Cornbelt II : 21 18 3 38.2 : Delta : 21 18 3 36.9 : Northern Plains : 30 27 3 41.4 : Southern Plains : 45 35 10 42.1 : Mountain I : 21 17 4 43.2 Mountain II : 20 16 4 41.0 Mountain III : 17 16 1 43.6 : Pacific : 68 48 20 44.0 CA : 156 135 21 43.7 : HI : 6 5 1 38.5 : US 3/ : 700 563 137 40.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers by Region and United States, April 6-12, 2008 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Type of Worker : U.S. :--------------------------------------------: Wage Rates for and : : :Field & Lvstk :All Hired Workers Region 2/ : Field : Livestock : Combined : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast I : 10.19 9.97 10.10 11.00 Northeast II : 9.71 8.77 9.42 10.00 : Appalachian I : 9.34 9.54 9.40 9.98 Appalachian II : 8.87 10.07 9.44 10.05 : Southeast : 8.93 8.81 8.90 9.66 FL : 9.32 9.59 9.35 10.25 : Lake : 10.57 10.78 10.70 11.25 : Cornbelt I : 10.32 10.73 10.45 11.43 Cornbelt II : 10.65 12.20 11.50 11.88 : Delta : 8.77 8.84 8.80 9.45 : Northern Plains : 10.73 10.20 10.40 11.00 : Southern Plains : 8.51 9.74 9.05 9.72 : Mountain I : 9.46 9.09 9.25 9.50 Mountain II : 9.33 9.81 9.55 10.05 Mountain III : 9.38 10.69 9.97 10.55 : Pacific : 9.14 11.34 9.41 10.00 CA : 10.00 11.00 10.16 11.05 : HI 3/ : 10.80 10.91 13.28 : US 4/ : 9.65 10.24 9.84 10.57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Insufficient data for livestock. 4/ Excludes AK. Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 6-12, 2008 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other : Livestock & : All : Crops : Crops : Poultry : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 10.73 9.97 9.56 9.81 Appalachian : 9.18 9.51 9.45 9.42 Southeast : 8.55 9.16 9.45 9.21 Lake : 3/ 10.08 10.78 10.70 Cornbelt : 11.03 10.09 11.34 10.82 Delta : 8.75 8.64 8.81 8.80 Northern Plains : 11.26 10.17 9.98 10.40 Southern Plains : 7.89 8.85 10.00 9.05 Mountain : 9.60 9.56 9.59 9.59 Pacific : 10.25 9.73 11.30 10.01 48 States : 9.84 9.66 10.20 9.87 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 12-18, 2009 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other : Livestock & : All : Crops : Crops : Poultry : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 12.03 10.54 9.66 10.20 Appalachian : 9.33 9.71 10.26 9.90 Southeast : 9.09 9.16 9.73 9.09 Lake : 12.17 10.71 10.81 10.88 Cornbelt : 11.79 9.80 10.97 10.88 Delta : 9.17 3/ 9.11 9.20 Northern Plains : 10.92 10.52 10.19 10.35 Southern Plains : 10.04 8.79 10.04 9.80 Mountain : 9.89 9.47 9.77 9.75 Pacific : 11.48 10.06 11.09 10.32 48 States : 10.54 9.90 10.25 10.07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Regions consist of the following States: Northeast: CT, DE, MD, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT. Appalachian: KY, NC, TN, VA, WV. Southeast: AL, FL, GA, SC. Lake: MI, MN, WI. Cornbelt: IA, IL, IN, MO, OH. Delta: AR, LA, MS. Northern Plains: KS, NE, ND, SD. Southern Plains: OK, TX. Mountain: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY. Pacific: CA, OR, WA. 48 States: All States, excluding AK and HI. 3/ Insufficient data. All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 6-12, 2008 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/: Gross Value Sales-$1,000's : :-----------------------------------------------------------: All : <50 : 50-99 : 100-249 : 250-499 : 500-999 : 1,000+ : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : N. East : 9.42 10.89 9.66 9.81 10.37 10.96 10.58 Appal. : 9.21 8.07 8.08 9.53 9.80 11.17 10.01 S. East : 9.69 8.91 9.23 10.04 10.21 10.18 10.07 Lake : 3/ 3/ 9.69 9.33 10.55 11.91 11.25 Cornbelt : 3/ 10.15 10.15 10.87 12.98 11.64 11.58 Delta : 9.44 9.31 9.16 10.78 8.50 9.36 9.45 N. Plains : 3/ 11.39 10.80 11.31 10.95 10.87 11.00 S. Plains : 10.36 13.22 9.08 12.05 7.71 9.65 9.72 Mountain : 9.67 9.66 8.46 9.87 9.99 10.44 10.00 Pacific : 11.15 12.18 11.20 10.77 10.34 10.82 10.80 48 States : 10.84 10.32 9.85 10.65 10.33 10.85 10.58 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 12-18, 2009 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/: Gross Value Sales-$1,000's : :-----------------------------------------------------------: All : <50 : 50-99 : 100-249 : 250-499 : 500-999 : 1,000+ : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : N. East : 9.86 8.62 9.91 10.06 10.01 12.05 11.14 Appal. : 11.73 10.22 8.79 10.36 9.30 11.13 10.62 S. East : 9.22 8.96 9.31 10.66 10.52 10.04 9.81 Lake : 13.73 3/ 13.06 10.25 11.83 11.50 11.55 Cornbelt : 11.13 3/ 11.63 10.07 11.33 12.15 11.74 Delta : 9.13 9.12 9.13 11.84 8.07 10.07 9.60 N. Plains : 3/ 3/ 11.02 10.29 11.88 10.95 10.80 S. Plains : 10.35 10.76 12.41 10.54 8.85 10.22 10.40 Mountain : 11.38 10.48 10.76 10.92 9.43 10.37 10.37 Pacific : 12.11 10.51 11.85 11.20 10.97 11.16 11.20 48 States : 10.89 9.99 10.60 10.74 10.41 11.05 10.81 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Regions consist of the following States: Northeast: CT, DE, MD, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT. Appalachian: KY, NC, TN, VA, WV. Southeast: AL, FL, GA, SC. Lake: MI, MN, WI. Cornbelt: IA, IL, IN, MO, OH. Delta: AR, LA, MS. Northern Plains: KS, NE, ND, SD. Southern Plains: OK, TX. Mountain: AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY. Pacific: CA, OR, WA. 48 States: All States, excluding AK and HI. 3/ Insufficient data. Field and Livestock Workers: Distribution by Type of Farm, 48 States 1/ 2/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type of : April 6-12, : January 11-17, : April 12-18, Farm : 2008 : 2009 : 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Field and Livestock Workers : Field Crops : 10 11 11 Other Crops : 55 44 51 Livestock, Dairy, : & Poultry : 35 45 38 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Economic Class of Farm, 48 States 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Value : April 6-12, : January 11-17, : April 12-18, of Sales : 2008 : 2009 : 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers : Less than $50,000 : 8 10 11 $50,000-$99,999 : 5 4 4 $100,000-$249,999 : 9 9 10 $250,000-$499,999 : 10 12 9 $500,000-$999,999 : 14 11 12 $1,000,000 and over : 54 54 54 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Category, United States, 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 6-12, : January 11-17, : April 12-18, Category : 2008 : 2009 : 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers Employed on Farms Hiring : 1 Worker : 9 11 11 2 Workers : 8 10 10 3-6 Workers : 18 20 18 7-10 Workers : 7 10 8 11-20 Workers : 11 12 11 21-50 Workers : 16 13 13 51 or more Workers : 31 24 29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ 48 States, excluding AK and HI. 2/ Field and Livestock Workers combined. 3/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. Agricultural Services Agricultural service operations provided 223,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of April 12-18, 2009. Agricultural service workers in California numbered 98,000 this April, down 11 percent from last year. Florida's number of agricultural service workers was 7,000, down 12 percent from last year. The average wages received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $10.85 and $10.30 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in April 2008 were $10.00 per hour in California and $10.05 per hour in Florida. Agricultural Service Workers: Number, Hours Worked, and Wage Rates, for California, Florida, and United States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number of Workers : Hours : Wage : Working on Farms : Worked 2/ : Rates 2/ 3/ State:------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Apr : Jan : Apr : Apr : Jan : Apr : Apr : Jan : Apr : 2008 : 2009 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- Hours ------ Dollars per Hour : CA : 110.0 103.0 98.0 38.0 34.7 37.0 10.00 11.05 10.85 FL : 8.0 9.0 7.0 40.0 36.7 33.0 10.05 10.05 10.30 : US : 219.0 190.0 223.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Data are for Agricultural Services performed on the farm by custom service units such as crew leaders or custom crews. These statistics are not included in the State-Regional tables. 2/ United States data not available. 3/ Benefits, such as housing and meals, are provided to some workers but the values are not included in the wage rates. Farm Labor Regions Region States Northeast I CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, RI, VT. Northeast II DE, MD, NJ, PA. Appalachian I NC, VA. Appalachian II KY, TN, WV. Southeast AL, GA, SC. Lake MI, MN, WI. Cornbelt I IL, IN, OH. Cornbelt II IA, MO. Delta AR, LA, MS. Northern Plains KS, NE, ND, SD. Southern Plains OK, TX. Mountain I ID, MT, WY. Mountain II CO, NV, UT. Mountain III AZ, NM. Pacific OR, WA. Farm Labor Definitions The following definitions are provided to assist in interpreting statistics published in quarterly Farm Labor reports. To ensure consistency in data collection, the questionnaires and instruction manual used by the interviewers provide more in-depth explanations of these terms. Farm or Ranch: A place that sells, or would normally sell, at least $1,000 worth of agricultural products during the year. Agricultural Work: Work done on a farm or ranch in connection with the production of agricultural products, including nursery and greenhouse products and animal specialties such as fur farms or apiaries. Also included is work done off the farm to handle farm related business, such as trips to buy feed or deliver products to local market. Hired Worker: Anyone, other than an agricultural service worker, who was paid for at least one hour of agricultural work on a farm or ranch. Worker type is determined by what the employee was primarily hired to do, not necessarily what work was done during the survey week. Type of workers include: Field Workers: Employees engaged in planting, tending and harvesting crops including operation of farm machinery on crop farms. Livestock Workers: Employees tending livestock, milking cows or caring for poultry, including operation of farm machinery on livestock or poultry operations. Supervisors: Hired managers, range foremen, crew leaders, etc. Other Workers: Employees engaged in agricultural work not included in the other three categories. Bookkeepers and pilots are examples. Methods of Pay: All wage rates are calculated based on total wages paid and total hours worked during the survey reference week. Wages paid other than hourly (bi-weekly, monthly, etc.) are converted to an hourly basis prior to summarization. Wages paid by piece rate (per quantity of produce picked, etc.) are also converted to an hourly basis. Perquisites: Benefits, such as cash bonuses, housing, or meals, provided to an employee in addition to pay are included in perquisites. Wage rates published in this release do not include the value of these benefits. Term of Employment: The length of time during the year the farm operator expects to employ those workers who were on the payroll during the survey week. Definitions - continued Agricultural Service: Any farm-related service performed on a farm or ranch on a contract or fee basis. This primarily includes activities performed by contract workers on fruit, vegetable, or berry operations. It also includes custom work (see below), veterinarian work, artificial insemination, sheep shearing, milk testing, or any other farm-related activity performed on a farm or ranch on a "fee per service" basis rather than hourly. Contract Labor: Contract workers are paid by a crew leader, contractor, buyer, processor, cooperative, or other person who has an oral or written agreement with a farmer/rancher. Pruning, thinning, weeding or harvesting of fruit, vegetable or berry crops are examples. A machine is not a part of the service activity provided by the contractor. Custom Work: Work performed by machines and labor hired as a unit. Hay baling, combining, corn or cotton picking, spraying, fertilizing, and laser leveling are examples of custom work when the equipment is included in the service activity. Type of Farm (or Ranch): An operation is classified in the farm type which accounts for the largest portion of the total gross value of sales for its agricultural production. The three types of farms broken out in this publication are: Field Crops: A farm producing wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, barley, dry beans, rye, sorghum, cotton, popcorn, tobacco, or other such crops. Other Crops: A farm producing vegetables, melons, berry crops, grapes, tree nuts, citrus fruits, deciduous tree fruits, avocados, dates, figs, olives, nursery, or greenhouse crops. This category also includes farms producing potatoes, sugar crops, hay, peanuts, hops, mint, and maple syrup. Livestock or Poultry: A farm producing cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, milk, chickens, eggs, turkeys, or animal specialties such as furs, fish, honey, etc. Gross Value of Sales: This includes all income during a year from the sale of crops, livestock, dairy, poultry, or other related agricultural products, including the landlord's share. When commodities are placed under CCC loan, they are considered as sold. Reliability of Farm Labor Estimates Survey Procedures: These data were collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) during the last two weeks of April using sampling procedures to ensure every employer of agricultural workers had a chance of being selected. Two samples of farm operators are selected. First, NASS maintains a list of farms that hire farm workers. Farms on this list are classified by size and type. Those expected to employ large numbers of workers are selected with greater frequency than those hiring few or no workers. A second sample consists of segments of land scientifically selected from an area sampling frame. Each June, highly trained interviewers locate each selected land segment and identify every farm operating land within the sample segment's boundaries. The names of farms found in these area segments are matched against the NASS list of farms; those not found on the list are included in the labor survey sample to represent all farms. This methodology is known as multiple frame sampling, with an area sample used to measure the incompleteness of the list. Additionally, a list of agricultural service firms was sampled in California and Florida. The survey reference week was April 12-18, 2009. Reliability: Two types of errors, sampling and non-sampling, are always present in an estimate based on a sample survey. Both types affect the "accuracy" of the estimates. Sampling error occurs because a complete census is not taken. The sampling error measures the variation in estimates from the average of all possible samples. An estimate of 100 with a sampling error of 1 would mean that chances are 19 out of 20 that the estimates from all possible samples averaged together would be between 98 and 102; which is the survey estimate, plus or minus two times the sampling error. The sampling error expressed as a percent of the estimate is called the relative sampling error. The relative sampling error for number of hired workers at the U.S. level is normally less than 5 percent. The relative sampling error for the number of hired workers generally ranged between 8 and 20 percent at the regional level. The U.S. all hired farm worker wage rate had a relative sampling error of 0.9 percent. The relative sampling error was 0.9 percent for the combined field and livestock worker wage rate. Relative sampling errors for the all hired farm worker wage rate generally ranged between 2 and 5 percent at the regional levels. Relative sampling errors for wage rates published by type of farm and economic class of farm generally ranged between 2 and 19 percent at the regional level. Non-sampling errors can occur in a complete census as well as in sample surveys. They are caused by the inability to obtain correct information from each operation sampled, differences in interpreting questions or definitions, and mistakes in editing, coding or processing the data. Special efforts are taken at each step of the survey to minimize non-sampling errors. Revision Policy: Farm labor information is subject to revision the next time the information is published or the year after the original publication date. The basis for revision must be supported by additional data that directly affect the level of the estimate. Worker numbers and wage rates for January 2009 and April 2008 were subject to revision with this report. If any revisions were made to previous data, they are reprinted in this report for your information, and they are identified as such. Index Page U.S. Hired Workers on Farms, Wage Rates and Hours Worked..................................... 3 Number of Workers and Average Hours Worked by Region and U.S. April 2009............................................................................4 January 2009..........................................................................6 April 2008............................................................................8 Wage Rates by Region and U.S. April 2009............................................................................5 January 2009..........................................................................7 April 2008............................................................................9 Agricultural Services: Workers, Average Hours Worked, and Wages April 2009...........................................................................13 January 2009.........................................................................13 April 2008...........................................................................13 Other Labor Estimates U.S. Distribution of Workers.........................................................12 Wage Rates by Type of Farm, by Region, State, 48 States..............................10 Wage Rates by Economic Class of Farm, by Region, State, 48 States....................11 Farm Labor Region Map........................................................................14 Farm Labor Definitions.......................................................................15 Reliability of Farm Labor Estimates..........................................................17 Revision Policy..............................................................................17 The next Farm Labor report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on August 21, 2009. 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