Farm Labor
ISSN: 1949-0909
Released August 19, 2010, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
Hired Workers Down 1 Percent, Wage Rates Up 2 Percent From a Year Ago
There were 1,244,000 hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches during
the week of July 11-17, 2010, down 1 percent from a year ago. Of these hired
workers, 894,000 were hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service
employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 350,000 workers.
Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $10.82 per hour
during the July 2010 reference week, up 16 cents from a year earlier. Field
workers received an average of $10.12 per hour, up 8 cents from last July,
while livestock workers earned $10.19 per hour compared with $10.05 a year
earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $10.14 per
hour, was up 10 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged
41.0 for hired workers during the survey week, up 3 percent from a year ago.
The largest decreases in the number of hired workers from last year occurred
in the Lake (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), Southern Plains (Oklahoma
and Texas), Corn Belt I (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio), Delta (Arkansas,
Louisiana, and Mississippi), and Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee, and
West Virginia) regions. In the Lake, Corn Belt I, and Appalachian II regions,
weather conditions were wetter than last year's reference week. Fieldwork
progress was slowed for nearly two days in some areas, lowering the demand
for hired workers. Heavy rains and flooding occurred in parts of Texas,
halting most field activities and reducing the need for hired workers in the
Southern Plains region. In the Delta region, declining demand from the
nursery and greenhouse industries kept hired worker numbers below last year.
The largest increases in the number of hired workers from last year occurred
in California, and in the Northern Plains (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota,
and South Dakota), Corn Belt II (Iowa and Missouri), Appalachian I (North
Carolina and Virginia), and Mountain II (Colorado, Nevada, and Utah) regions.
Above normal winter precipitation in California allowed more acreage to be
cropped due to increased availability of irrigation water. Therefore, more
hired workers were needed. In the Northern Plains and Mountain II regions,
weather conditions were drier than last year's reference week. This allowed
field activities to progress rapidly and increased the need for hired
workers. Strong demand from the cattle and poultry industries in the Corn
Belt II region pushed hired worker numbers above last year. In the
Appalachian II region, increased requirements from the tobacco, vegetable,
and fruit industries kept hired worker levels above the previous year.
Hired worker wage rates were generally above a year ago in most regions. The
largest increases occurred in the Northern Plains, Northeast II (Delaware,
Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), Corn Belt I, and Southeast (Alabama,
Georgia, and South Carolina) regions. In the Northern Plains, Corn Belt I and
Southeast regions, the higher wages were due to a lower proportion of part
time workers. The higher wages in the Northeast II region were due to a
larger percentage of higher paid equine workers.
Contents
Hired Workers and Wage Rates, United States, with Comparisons..................... 5
Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Region and United States: July 11-17, 2010... 6
Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Region and United States: July 11-17, 2010......... 7
Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Region and United States: April 11-17, 2010.. 8
Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Region and United States: April 11-17, 2010........ 9
Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Region and United States: July 12-18, 2009... 10
Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Region and United States: July 12-18, 2009......... 11
Combined Field and Livestock Worker Wage Rates, by Type of Farm - Region
and 48 States: July 12-18, 2009................................................... 12
Combined Field and Livestock Worker Wage Rates, by Type of Farm - Region
and 48 States: July 11-17, 2010................................................... 12
All Hired Worker Wage Rates by Economic Class of Farm - Region
and 48 States: July 12-18, 2009................................................... 13
All Hired Worker Wage Rates by Economic Class of Farm - Region
and 48 States: July 11-17, 2010................................................... 13
Field and Livestock Workers by Type of Farm....................................... 14
Hired Workers by Economic Class of Farm........................................... 14
Hired Workers by Number of Workers on Farm........................................ 14
Number of Agricultural Service Workers, Hours Worked, and Wage Rates - California,
Florida, and United States........................................................ 15
Farm Labor Regions................................................................ 16
Farm Labor Definitions ........................................................... 17
Survey Methodology................................................................ 19
Information Contacts.............................................................. 20
Hired Workers and Wage Rates - United States
[Excludes Alaska]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: July 12-18, : April 11-17, : July 11-17,
Farm employment : 2009 : 2010 : 2010
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: 1,000
:
Hired workers :
150 days or more ...........: 609 585 634
149 days or less ...........: 266 152 260
Total .........................: 875 737 894
:
Agricultural services :
Workers working on farms ......: 381 261 350
:
Hired farm and service workers ..: 1,256 998 1,244
:
: hours per week
:
:
Hours worked by hired workers ...: 39.7 39.8 41.0
:
: dollars per hour
:
:
Wage rate :
Field and livestock combined ..: 10.04 10.12 10.14
Field ......................: 10.04 10.04 10.12
Livestock ..................: 10.05 10.30 10.19
All hired workers 1/ 2/ .......: 10.66 10.82 10.82
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Benefits, such as housing and meals, are provided some workers but the values
are not included in the wage rates.
2/ Excludes agricultural service workers.
Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Regions and United States: July 11-17, 2010
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hired
:---------------------------------------------------------------
United States : : Expected to be employed :
and region 1/ : Number :-------------------------------: Number
: of : 150 days : 149 days : of hours
: workers : or more : or less : worked
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: -------------- 1,000 -------------- hours per week
:
Northeast I .....: 38 25 13 43.7
Northeast II ....: 37 25 12 39.2
:
Appalachian I ...: 44 27 17 39.9
Appalachian II ..: 24 13 11 35.4
:
Southeast .......: 36 27 9 38.9
Florida .........: 35 28 7 37.7
:
Lake ............: 64 42 22 34.4
:
Cornbelt I ......: 50 34 16 37.4
Cornbelt II .....: 33 21 12 31.9
:
Delta ...........: 29 18 11 38.3
:
Northern Plains .: 46 36 10 43.7
:
Southern Plains .: 53 44 9 44.0
:
Mountain I ......: 27 19 8 42.3
Mountain II .....: 24 18 6 44.1
Mountain III ....: 19 16 3 44.6
:
Pacific .........: 120 65 55 42.5
California ......: 209 171 38 44.6
:
Hawaii ..........: 6 5 1 37.8
:
United States 2/ : 894 634 260 41.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Region map on page 16.
2/ Excludes Alaska.
Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Regions and United States: July 11-17, 2010
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Type of worker :
United States :-----------------------------------------------------: Wage rates for
and region 1/ : : :Field and livestock: all hired workers
: Field : Livestock : combined :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: dollars per hour
:
Northeast I .....: 9.81 9.59 9.73 10.35
Northeast II ....: 10.55 9.09 10.26 11.10
:
Appalachian I ...: 8.77 9.07 8.82 9.40
Appalachian II ..: 8.23 9.82 8.85 9.62
:
Southeast .......: 9.12 9.69 9.30 9.97
Florida .........: 9.40 9.40 9.40 10.68
:
Lake ............: 11.09 9.47 10.45 11.10
:
Cornbelt I ......: 10.57 11.17 10.75 11.20
Cornbelt II .....: 10.51 11.45 10.95 11.20
:
Delta ...........: 9.02 8.96 9.00 9.34
:
Northern Plains .: 11.74 11.20 11.50 11.80
:
Southern Plains .: 8.98 9.54 9.20 9.90
:
Mountain I ......: 9.95 9.39 9.70 10.32
Mountain II .....: 9.61 8.99 9.40 10.05
Mountain III ....: 9.70 9.69 9.70 10.50
:
Pacific .........: 10.65 11.89 10.75 11.27
California ......: 10.20 11.20 10.34 11.21
:
Hawaii ..........: 12.00 14.20 12.19 14.41
:
United States 2/ : 10.12 10.19 10.14 10.82
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Region map on page 16.
2/ Excludes Alaska.
Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Regions and United States: April 11-17, 2010
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hired
:---------------------------------------------------------------
United States : : Expected to be employed :
and region 1/ : Number :-------------------------------: Number
: of : 150 days : 149 days : of hours
: workers : or more : or less : worked
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: -------------- 1,000 -------------- hours per week
:
Northeast I .....: 36 29 7 40.4
Northeast II ....: 31 25 6 40.6
:
Appalachian I ...: 33 25 8 39.3
Appalachian II ..: 26 17 9 33.4
:
Southeast .......: 31 23 8 37.2
Florida .........: 50 41 9 37.2
:
Lake ............: 62 47 15 37.4
:
Cornbelt I ......: 45 29 16 34.1
Cornbelt II .....: 27 17 10 39.0
:
Delta ...........: 38 33 5 43.0
:
Northern Plains .: 28 22 6 40.9
:
Southern Plains .: 55 45 10 39.1
:
Mountain I ......: 25 21 4 44.0
Mountain II .....: 21 17 4 41.9
Mountain III ....: 18 16 2 40.7
:
Pacific .........: 65 53 12 41.4
California ......: 140 120 20 43.0
:
Hawaii ..........: 6 5 1 36.6
:
United States 2/ : 737 585 152 39.8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Region map on page 16.
2/ Excludes Alaska.
Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Regions and United States: April 11-17, 2010
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Type of worker :
United States :-----------------------------------------------------: Wage rates for
and region 1/ : : :Field and livestock: all hired workers
: Field : Livestock : combined :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: dollars per hour
:
Northeast I .....: 10.43 9.89 10.25 10.87
Northeast II ....: 10.43 9.12 10.00 10.60
:
Appalachian I ...: 9.87 10.59 10.10 10.63
Appalachian II ..: 9.47 9.69 9.55 10.20
:
Southeast .......: 8.86 9.73 9.10 9.47
Florida .........: 9.10 10.00 9.25 10.22
:
Lake ............: 10.95 10.18 10.55 11.18
:
Cornbelt I ......: 11.11 9.75 10.70 11.25
Cornbelt II .....: 10.47 11.23 10.75 10.87
:
Delta ...........: 9.37 8.92 9.20 9.85
:
Northern Plains .: 11.84 10.92 11.40 11.83
:
Southern Plains .: 9.56 10.25 9.90 10.30
:
Mountain I ......: 9.63 9.56 9.60 10.14
Mountain II .....: 10.90 11.15 11.00 11.93
Mountain III ....: 9.18 10.97 10.25 11.10
:
Pacific .........: 10.02 11.73 10.25 11.18
California ......: 10.00 11.00 10.20 11.11
:
Hawaii ..........: 11.65 13.90 11.84 13.99
:
United States 2/ : 10.04 10.30 10.12 10.82
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Region map on page 16.
2/ Excludes Alaska.
Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Regions and United States: July 12-18, 2009
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Hired
:---------------------------------------------------------------
United States : : Expected to be employed :
and region 1/ : Number :-------------------------------: Number
: of : 150 days : 149 days : of hours
: workers : or more : or less : worked
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: -------------- 1,000 -------------- hours per week
:
Northeast I .....: 37 24 13 38.5
Northeast II ....: 38 27 11 39.1
:
Appalachian I ...: 40 24 16 37.9
Appalachian II ..: 29 18 11 34.5
:
Southeast .......: 40 28 12 37.4
Florida .........: 36 32 4 37.3
:
Lake ............: 76 50 26 34.6
:
Cornbelt I ......: 56 34 22 36.2
Cornbelt II .....: 28 20 8 33.6
:
Delta ...........: 34 28 6 38.5
:
Northern Plains .: 40 28 12 41.0
:
Southern Plains .: 61 42 19 39.5
:
Mountain I ......: 29 22 7 41.1
Mountain II .....: 20 14 6 40.1
Mountain III ....: 18 16 2 45.4
:
Pacific .........: 117 62 55 40.4
California ......: 170 135 35 45.6
:
Hawaii ..........: 6 5 1 37.4
:
United States 2/ : 875 609 266 39.7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Region map on page 16.
2/ Excludes Alaska.
Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Regions and United States: July 12-18, 2009
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Type of worker :
United States :-----------------------------------------------------: Wage rates for
and region 1/ : : :Field and livestock: all hired workers
: Field : Livestock : combined :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: dollars per hour
:
Northeast I .....: 10.32 9.86 10.15 10.92
Northeast II ....: 9.83 9.09 9.65 10.20
:
Appalachian I ...: 9.18 10.40 9.50 9.88
Appalachian II ..: 9.36 9.76 9.55 10.34
:
Southeast .......: 8.92 8.84 8.90 9.27
Florida .........: 9.14 9.50 9.20 10.51
:
Lake ............: 10.55 10.27 10.45 11.04
:
Cornbelt I ......: 9.78 9.45 9.70 10.30
Cornbelt II .....: 10.88 10.05 10.55 11.01
:
Delta ...........: 8.69 9.15 8.85 9.42
:
Northern Plains .: 10.67 10.20 10.50 10.73
:
Southern Plains .: 8.94 9.72 9.30 9.88
:
Mountain I ......: 9.67 9.33 9.50 10.00
Mountain II .....: 10.16 8.54 9.60 10.21
Mountain III ....: 10.09 10.94 10.38 11.19
:
Pacific .........: 10.93 11.77 11.00 11.43
California ......: 10.10 11.30 10.30 11.08
:
Hawaii ..........: 11.60 13.60 11.81 13.97
:
United States 2/ : 10.04 10.05 10.04 10.66
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ Region map on page 16.
2/ Excludes Alaska.
Combined Field and Livestock Worker Wage Rates by Type of Farm - Regions
and 48 States: July 12-18, 2009
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Region 1/ : Field : Other : Livestock : All
: crops : crops : and poultry : farms
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: dollars per hour
:
Northeast ......: 10.99 9.97 9.57 9.89
Appalachian ....: 8.32 10.13 9.76 9.52
Southeast ......: 8.29 9.09 9.10 9.03
Lake ...........: 11.57 10.50 10.07 10.45
Cornbelt .......: 10.44 9.48 9.97 9.97
Delta ..........: 8.26 9.24 9.22 8.85
Northern Plains : 10.83 10.16 10.12 10.50
Southern Plains : (D) 8.77 9.49 9.30
Mountain .......: (D) 9.46 9.22 9.85
Pacific ........: 10.78 10.39 11.33 10.55
48 States ......: 10.16 10.05 9.95 10.04
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
1/ Regions consist of the following States:
Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont.
Appalachian: Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.
Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina.
Lake: Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Cornbelt: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio.
Delta: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Northern Plains: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
Southern Plains: Oklahoma, Texas.
Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah,
Wyoming.
Pacific: California, Oregon, Washington.
48 States: All States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
Combined Field and Livestock Worker Wage Rates by Type of Farm - Regions
and 48 States: July 11-17, 2010
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Region 1/ : Field : Other : Livestock : All
: crops : crops : and poultry : farms
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: dollars per hour
:
Northeast ......: 9.62 9.75 10.41 9.97
Appalachian ....: 8.37 8.86 9.65 8.83
Southeast ......: 7.99 9.30 9.76 9.35
Lake ...........: 11.14 11.36 9.20 10.45
Cornbelt .......: 11.06 10.00 11.20 10.82
Delta ..........: 9.06 9.94 8.71 9.00
Northern Plains : (D) 10.16 11.08 11.50
Southern Plains : 8.86 8.86 9.58 9.20
Mountain .......: 10.39 9.42 9.56 9.60
Pacific ........: 12.17 10.30 11.46 10.49
48 States ......: 10.17 10.05 10.28 10.14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
1/ Regions consist of the following States:
Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont.
Appalachian: Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.
Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina.
Lake: Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Cornbelt: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio.
Delta: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Northern Plains: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
Southern Plains: Oklahoma, Texas.
Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah,
Wyoming.
Pacific: California, Oregon, Washington.
48 States: All States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
All Hired Worker Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm - Regions
and 48 States: July 12-18, 2009
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Gross value sales-$1,000 :
Region 1/ :-----------------------------------------------------------: All
: <50 : 50-99 : 100-249 : 250-499 : 500-999 : 1,000+ : farms
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: dollars per hour
:
Northeast .......: 10.68 8.08 8.61 10.44 9.59 11.34 10.55
Appalachian .....: 8.75 8.89 10.39 9.37 8.99 10.77 10.06
Southeast .......: 10.15 8.23 10.38 8.58 9.54 10.18 9.86
Lake ............: (D) 7.12 9.45 10.02 9.53 12.22 11.04
Cornbelt ........: 9.16 9.96 11.79 9.61 11.24 10.91 10.53
Delta ...........: 9.77 (D) 9.68 9.55 9.30 8.92 9.42
Northern Plains .: (D) 9.57 9.64 11.19 10.43 11.12 10.73
Southern Plains .: 9.52 10.10 10.49 9.19 10.29 9.84 9.88
Mountain ........: 11.40 8.48 8.45 10.05 10.47 10.69 10.41
Pacific .........: 10.65 10.76 11.58 11.42 10.98 11.18 11.15
48 States .......: 10.13 9.69 10.16 10.26 10.31 11.03 10.62
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
1/ Regions consist of the following States:
Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont.
Appalachian: Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.
Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina.
Lake: Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Cornbelt: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio.
Delta: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Northern Plains: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
Southern Plains: Oklahoma, Texas.
Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah,
Wyoming.
Pacific: California, Oregon, Washington.
48 States: All States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
All Hired Worker Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm - Regions
and 48 States: July 11-17, 2010
[Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Gross value sales-$1,000 :
Region 1/ :-----------------------------------------------------------: All
: <50 : 50-99 : 100-249 : 250-499 : 500-999 : 1,000+ : farms
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: dollars per hour
:
Northeast .......: 11.99 10.13 9.58 9.60 10.91 10.97 10.70
Appalachian .....: 8.78 10.14 8.55 8.89 9.03 10.25 9.47
Southeast .......: 9.94 9.37 9.78 10.40 10.21 10.53 10.31
Lake ............: 10.54 (D) 9.40 9.91 11.98 11.26 11.10
Cornbelt ........: 10.17 9.57 10.73 10.31 10.93 11.93 11.20
Delta ...........: 8.44 (D) 9.34 9.77 9.30 10.08 9.34
Northern Plains .: 10.46 9.53 10.54 12.29 12.32 12.01 11.80
Southern Plains .: 9.66 9.04 10.30 9.06 10.46 10.49 9.90
Mountain ........: 10.23 9.39 9.44 10.19 11.27 10.31 10.28
Pacific .........: 10.04 (D) 11.82 11.39 11.19 11.19 11.23
48 States .......: 9.98 10.37 10.31 10.38 11.07 11.06 10.79
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
1/ Regions consist of the following States:
Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont.
Appalachian: Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia.
Southeast: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina.
Lake: Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Cornbelt: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio.
Delta: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Northern Plains: Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
Southern Plains: Oklahoma, Texas.
Mountain: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah,
Wyoming.
Pacific: California, Oregon, Washington.
48 States: All States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
Field and Livestock Workers by Type of Farm
[Excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: July 12-18, : April 11-17, : July 11-17,
Type of farm : 2009 : 2010 : 2010
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent
:
Field crops ..................: 16 15 13
Other crops ..................: 54 52 58
Livestock, dairy, and poultry : 30 33 29
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hired Workers by Economic Class of Farm
[Excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: July 12-18, : April 11-17, : July 11-17,
Gross value of sales : 2009 : 2010 : 2010
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent
:
Less than $50,000 ............: 12 11 11
$50,000-$99,999 ..............: 5 5 5
$100,000-$249,999 ............: 10 10 9
$250,000-$499,999 ............: 11 11 12
$500,000-$999,999 ............: 12 12 13
$1,000,000 and over ..........: 50 51 50
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hired Workers by Number of Workers on Farm
[Excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Excludes agricultural service workers]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: July 12-18, : April 11-17, : July 11-17,
Number of workers on farm : 2009 : 2010 : 2010
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: percent
Employed on farms hiring :
1 worker ...................: 10 10 9
2 workers ..................: 9 10 8
3-6 workers ................: 19 20 16
7-10 workers ...............: 9 8 7
11-20 workers ..............: 11 12 12
21-50 workers ..............: 13 11 13
51 or more workers .........: 29 29 35
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agricultural Services
Agricultural service operations provided 350,000 workers for the Nation's
farms and ranches during the week of July 11-17, 2010. Agricultural service
workers in California numbered 120,000 this July, down 4 percent from last
year. Florida's number of agricultural service workers was 2,000, unchanged
from last year.
The average wages received by agricultural service workers in California and
Florida were $10.85 and $11.95 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in
July 2009 were $10.25 per hour in California and $10.65 per hour in Florida.
Number of Agricultural Service Workers, Hours Worked, and Wage Rates - California,
Florida, and United States
[Data are for agricultural services performed on the farm by custom service units.
These statistics are not included in the State-Regional tables]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: Number of workers : Hours : Wage
: working on farms : worked : rates 1/
State :-------------------------------------------------------------------------
: July : April : July : July : April : July : July : April : July
: 2009 : 2010 : 2010 : 2009 : 2010 : 2010 : 2009 : 2010 : 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: -------- 1,000 ------- ------- hours ------ dollars per hour
:
California ...: 135.0 101.0 130.0 38.4 35.0 39.9 10.25 10.80 10.85
Florida ......: 2.0 6.0 2.0 43.0 41.0 46.0 10.65 10.80 11.95
:
United States : 381.0 261.0 350.0 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(NA) Not available.
1/ Benefits, such as housing and meals, are provided to some workers but the values
are not included in the wage rates.
Region States
Northeast I Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New York, Rhode Island, Vermont.
Northeast II Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania.
Appalachian I North Carolina, Virginia.
Appalachian II Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia.
Southeast Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina.
Lake Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Cornbelt I Illinois, Indiana, Ohio.
Cornbelt II Iowa, Missouri.
Delta Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Northern Plains Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
Southern Plains Oklahoma, Texas.
Mountain I Idaho, Montana, Wyoming.
Mountain II Colorado, Nevada, Utah.
Mountain III Arizona, New Mexico.
Pacific Oregon, Washington.
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.
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.
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 and the value of products produced under
contract. When commodities are placed under CCC loan, they are considered as
sold.
Survey Methodology
Survey Procedures: These data were collected by the National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) during the last two weeks of July 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
July 11-17, 2010.
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 10 and 20 percent at the regional level. The U.S.
all hired farm worker wage rate had a relative sampling error of 0.8 percent.
The relative sampling error was 0.8 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 6 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 20 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 following
quarter that the information is published and 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 April 2010 and July 2009 were subject to revision with this report.
Information Contacts
Listed below are the commodity statisticians in the Environmental and Demographics
Section of the Environmental, Economics, and Demographics Branch of the National
Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries
may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov.
Kevin Barnes, Chief, Environmental, Economics, and Demographics Branch.... (202) 720-6146
Mark R. Miller, Head, Environmental and Demographics Section.............. (202) 720-0684
Mark Aitken - Farm Labor.............................................. (202) 720-9525
Jerry Campbell - Energy, Census of Agriculture........................ (202) 720-5581
Liana Cuffman - Livestock Chemical Usage, Postharvest Chemical Usage.. (202) 690-0392
Vincent Davis - Census of Agriculture................................. (202) 690-3228
Doug Farmer - Fruit Chemical Usage, Vegetable Chemical Usage.......... (202) 720-7492
Theresa Varner - Field Crops Chemical Usage........................... (202) 690-2284
Access to NASS Reports
For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following
ways:
All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web
site: http://www.nass.usda.gov
Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e-
mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit
http://www.nass.usda.gov and in the "Receive NASS Updates" box under
"Receive reports by Email," click on "National" or "State" to select
the reports you would like to receive.
Printed reports may be purchased from the National Technical
Information Service (NTIS) by calling toll-free (800) 999-6779, or
(703) 605-6220 if calling from outside the United States or Canada.
Accepted methods of payment are Visa, MasterCard, check, or money
order.
For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Agricultural
Statistics Hotline at (800) 727-9540, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, or e-mail:
nass@nass.usda.gov.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination
in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial
status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information,
political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's
income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited
bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large
print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600
(voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or
call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal
opportunity provider and employer.