Farm Labor ISSN: 1949-0909 Released August 18, 2011, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Hired Workers Down 5 Percent, Wage Rates Up 1 Percent From a Year Ago There were 1,186,000 hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of July 10-16, 2011, down 5 percent from a year ago. Of these hired workers, 836,000 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 $10.90 per hour during the July 2011 reference week, up 11 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $10.24 per hour, up 15 cents from last July, while livestock workers earned $10.28 per hour compared with $10.15 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $10.25 per hour, was up 14 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged 41.3 for hired workers during the survey week, up 1 percent from a year ago. The largest decreases in the number of hired workers from last year occurred in California and in the Pacific (Oregon and Washington), Northern Plains (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota), and Corn Belt I (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) regions. In California and in the Pacific region, the wet spring and cooler than normal summer temperatures delayed crop development, reducing the demand for hired workers. Above normal temperatures, heavy rains, and high winds in the Northern Plains and Corn Belt I regions discouraged crop progress and slowed field activity. Therefore, fewer hired workers were needed. The largest increases in the number of hired workers from last year occurred in the Lake (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) and Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia) regions and in Florida. In the Lake and Appalachian II regions, the wet conditions during last year's reference week slowed field activity for two days. Drier conditions this year allowed fieldwork to progress rapidly, increasing the demand for hired workers. Recent rains in Florida improved crop growth which led to heightened activity on farms causing more hired workers to be necessary. Hired worker wage rates were generally above a year ago in most regions. The largest increases occurred in Florida and in the Corn Belt II (Iowa and Missouri), Appalachian II, and Southern Plains (Oklahoma and Texas) regions. The higher wages in Florida were due to strong demand from the nursery and greenhouse industry. In the Corn Belt II region, the higher wages were due to a lower proportion of part time workers. There was also a larger percentage of more highly skilled machine operators on grain farms. Fewer hours worked combined with fewer part time workers in the Appalachian II region led to the increase in wages. In the Southern Plains region, there were more salaried workers working fewer hours which pushed the average wage up. Contents Hired Workers and Wage Rates, United States, with Comparisons...................... 5 Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Region and United States: April 10-16, 2011... 6 Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Region and United States: April 10-16, 2011......... 7 Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Region and United States: January 9-15, 2011.. 8 Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Region and United States: January 9-15, 2011........ 9 Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Region and United States: April 11-17, 2010... 10 Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Region and United States: April 11-17, 2010......... 11 Combined Field and Livestock Worker Wage Rates, by Type of Farm - Region and 48 States: April 11-17, 2010................................................... 12 Combined Field and Livestock Worker Wage Rates, by Type of Farm - Region and 48 States: April 10-16, 2011................................................... 12 All Hired Worker Wage Rates by Economic Class of Farm - Region and 48 States: April 11-17, 2010................................................... 13 All Hired Worker Wage Rates by Economic Class of Farm - Region and 48 States: April 10-16, 2011................................................... 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 11-17, : April 10-16, : July 10-16, Farm employment : 2010 : 2011 1/ : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 : Hired workers : 150 days or more ...........: 627 606 149 days or less ...........: 258 230 Total .........................: 885 836 : Agricultural services : Workers working on farms ......: 360 350 : Hired farm and service workers ..: 1,245 1,186 : : hours per week : : Hours worked by hired workers ...: 40.7 41.3 : : dollars per hour : : Wage rate : Field and livestock combined ..: 10.11 10.25 Field ......................: 10.09 10.24 Livestock ..................: 10.15 10.28 All hired workers 2/ 3/ .......: 10.79 10.90 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ The April 2011 Farm Labor Survey was not conducted. 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. Number of Workers and Hours Worked - Regions and United States: July 10-16, 2011 [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 28 10 41.3 Northeast II ....: 33 21 12 39.2 : Appalachian I ...: 41 31 10 42.8 Appalachian II ..: 32 19 13 34.0 : Southeast .......: 31 22 9 39.4 Florida .........: 40 37 3 40.3 : Lake ............: 74 50 24 36.7 : Cornbelt I ......: 41 29 12 34.4 Cornbelt II .....: 33 25 8 37.1 : Delta ...........: 25 18 7 39.5 : Northern Plains .: 37 27 10 45.2 : Southern Plains .: 51 40 11 40.0 : Mountain I ......: 28 21 7 44.5 Mountain II .....: 19 16 3 46.0 Mountain III ....: 16 15 1 46.8 : Pacific .........: 111 56 55 42.5 California ......: 179 145 34 44.7 : Hawaii ..........: 7 6 1 38.0 : United States 2/ : 836 606 230 41.3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Region map on page 14. 2/ Excludes Alaska. Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Regions and United States: July 10-16, 2011 [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 .....: 10.63 9.83 10.35 11.00 Northeast II ....: 9.93 10.46 10.05 10.95 : Appalachian I ...: 9.20 9.89 9.35 9.85 Appalachian II ..: 9.49 9.51 9.50 10.50 : Southeast .......: 9.18 8.72 9.05 9.70 Florida .........: 9.90 10.20 9.95 12.15 : Lake ............: 10.33 10.24 10.30 10.75 : Cornbelt I ......: 10.66 10.63 10.65 11.15 Cornbelt II .....: 12.25 11.43 12.00 12.15 : Delta ...........: 9.24 10.27 9.50 9.85 : Northern Plains .: 11.04 10.96 11.00 11.20 : Southern Plains .: 10.14 10.25 10.20 10.60 : Mountain I ......: 10.18 9.91 10.05 10.25 Mountain II .....: 9.77 9.19 9.55 10.55 Mountain III ....: 9.89 10.65 10.20 11.10 : Pacific .........: 10.82 10.56 10.80 11.28 California ......: 10.00 10.80 10.10 10.80 : Hawaii ..........: 12.70 13.25 12.76 14.91 : United States 2/ : 10.24 10.28 10.25 10.90 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Region map on page 14. 2/ Excludes Alaska. 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 ......: 200 164 36 43.4 : Hawaii ..........: 6 5 1 37.8 : United States 2/ : 885 627 258 40.7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Region map on page 14. 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 ......: 10.10 11.10 10.23 11.12 : Hawaii ..........: 12.00 14.20 12.19 14.41 : United States 2/ : 10.09 10.15 10.11 10.79 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Region map on page 14. 2/ Excludes Alaska. 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. Combined Field and Livestock Worker Wage Rates by Type of Farm - Regions and 48 States: July 10-16, 2011 [Excludes agricultural service workers] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Region 1/ : Field : Other : Livestock : All : crops : crops : and poultry : farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : dollars per hour : Northeast ......: 9.42 10.38 10.09 10.21 Appalachian ....: 9.14 9.48 9.54 9.41 Southeast ......: 9.43 9.58 9.42 9.53 Lake ...........: 11.22 10.16 10.22 10.30 Cornbelt .......: 12.25 10.24 11.35 11.29 Delta ..........: 8.99 9.91 10.33 9.50 Northern Plains : 11.42 11.20 10.63 11.00 Southern Plains : (D) 9.20 10.32 10.20 Mountain .......: 9.02 9.85 10.16 9.94 Pacific ........: 11.58 10.30 10.31 10.36 48 States ......: 10.68 10.14 10.24 10.25 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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. All Hired Worker Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm - Regions and 48 States: July 10-16, 2011 [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 .......: 11.11 9.65 8.82 10.06 11.30 11.62 10.98 Appalachian .....: 9.30 9.50 9.45 10.96 10.24 10.45 10.10 Southeast .......: 9.72 10.56 9.38 11.29 9.61 11.77 11.09 Lake ............: 11.15 9.62 10.01 9.41 10.27 11.43 10.75 Cornbelt ........: 11.15 8.58 (D) 10.98 11.75 12.30 11.61 Delta ...........: 9.86 11.23 9.73 9.69 10.47 9.62 9.85 Northern Plains .: 8.49 10.55 9.75 9.58 11.75 11.82 11.20 Southern Plains .: 9.79 10.29 10.45 11.80 11.27 10.38 10.60 Mountain ........: 8.59 (D) (D) 9.92 10.06 11.10 10.56 Pacific .........: 10.69 11.07 11.13 11.52 10.65 11.00 10.98 48 States .......: 10.23 9.78 10.51 10.78 10.78 11.22 10.87 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (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 11-17, : April 10-16, : July 10-16, Type of farm : 2010 : 2011 1/ : 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Field crops ..................: 13 13 Other crops ..................: 58 58 Livestock, dairy, and poultry : 29 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The April 2011 Farm Labor Survey was not conducted. Hired Workers by Economic Class of Farm [Excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Excludes agricultural service workers] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 11-17, : April 10-16, : July 10-16, Gross value of sales : 2010 : 2011 1/ : 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent : Less than $50,000 ............: 11 12 $50,000-$99,999 ..............: 5 5 $100,000-$249,999 ............: 9 10 $250,000-$499,999 ............: 12 10 $500,000-$999,999 ............: 13 13 $1,000,000 and over ..........: 50 50 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The April 2011 Farm Labor Survey was not conducted. Hired Workers by Number of Workers on Farm [Excluding Alaska. Excludes agricultural service workers] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 11-17, : April 10-16, : July 10-16, Number of workers on farm : 2010 : 2011 1/ : 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent Employed on farms hiring : 1 worker ...................: 9 9 2 workers ..................: 8 9 3-6 workers ................: 16 19 7-10 workers ...............: 7 8 11-20 workers ..............: 12 11 21-50 workers ..............: 13 14 51 or more workers .........: 35 30 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The April 2011 Farm Labor Survey was not conducted. Agricultural Services Agricultural service operations provided 350,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of July 10-16, 2011. Agricultural service workers in California numbered 148,000 this July, up 6 percent from last year. Florida's number of agricultural service workers was 3,000, up 50 percent from last year. The average wages received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $10.75 and $12.45 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in July 2010 were $10.75 per hour in California and $11.95 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 : 2010 :2011 2/ : 2011 : 2010 :2011 2/: 2011 : 2010 :2011 2/: 2011 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- hours ------ dollars per hour : California ...: 140.0 148.0 34.5 36.9 10.75 10.75 Florida ......: 2.0 3.0 46.0 49.7 11.95 12.45 : United States : 360.0 350.0 (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. 2/ The April 2011 Farm Labor Survey was not conducted. 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 10-16, 2011. 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 0.7 percent. The relative sampling error was 0.7 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 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 July 2010 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 Dale P. Hawks, 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........................... 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