HISTORY OF FARM EMPLOYMENT AND WAGE ESTIMATES Farm Employment Estimates U.S. farm employment estimates have been published for 80 years. From 1910 through 1924, annual estimates of farm employment were made for the Nation. From 1925 through 1933, estimates were published monthly. Regional estimates were started in 1934; monthly estimates by State began in 1950. In January 1975, quarterly estimates replaced monthly estimates. They were discontinued after the April 1981 estimate because of a reduction in program funding. Instead, estimates were prepared for July 1982 and July 1983. The quarterly estimating program resumed in July 1984 as a joint effort of the Departments of Agriculture and Labor, and more detailed employment and wage data were collected. Estimates were published for the United States (except Alaska), and for California, Florida, Hawaii, and 15 regions covering the remaining States. Wage Rates Estimates Annual average farm wage rate information was issued intermittently beginning in 1866, and annually from 1910 through 1922. From 1923 through 1947, estimates were published quarterly for daily and monthly wages. Beginning in 1948, the estimates covered hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly wages. Starting in 1974, wage rate estimates were published by method of pay. The categories, which overlapped, were "Piece rate," "Other than piece rate," "Hourly," "Hourly cash only (no benefits)," and "Cash only (any method of pay but no benefits)." Pay categories were modified in 1982 to make the series more analogous with wages reported in other industries. Rates were reported for workers paid by the "Hour," on "Piece rate," and by all "Other methods" of pay. "Piece rate" and "Other methods" were converted to hourly rates. Wage rate estimates were also prepared for different types of work performed during the survey week. Workers were classified by how they spent most of their time. Starting in 1974, wage rate groupings were: "Field and live- stock," "Packinghouse," "Machine operation," "Maintenance and bookkeeping," and "Supervisory." Beginning in July 1977, "Maintenance and bookkeeping" became "Other worker" and the "Field and livestock" category was split. In 1982, wage rate estimates by type of work were limited to "Field," "Livestock," "Field and livestock," "Supervisory," and "Other workers." In 1987, the type of worker classification was switched to what the employee was hired to do, rather than work performed during the survey week. Also, machine operators were counted as either "Field workers" or "Livestock workers" depending on the type of farm where they worked. Previously, they were included in "Other workers." Hours Worked Estimates Estimates of hours worked during the survey week by "Farm operators," "Other unpaid family members," "All family members," and "Hired workers" were made from 1965 through 1981. Unpaid family members (other than the operator) had to work fifteen or more hours during the week to be counted. In 1982, "Farm operator" and "Other unpaid family members" were changed to "Self employed workers" and "Unpaid workers" to conform more closely with data series for other business sectors. The estimate for "All family members" was dropped. BACKGROUND Survey Design Before 1975, a nonprobability mail survey was the source for farm labor information. The questionnaire, known as the "Farm Report," was completed voluntarily each month by a panel of farmers. Number of workers and hours worked on the respondent's farm were reported for the last full week of the month. The reporter was also asked about the prevailing wage rate paid on first of the month by local farmers. Farm work included any activity linked to producing crops or livestock (including nursery and greenhouse products, and animal specialties such as catfish, furs, or honey), or maintenance of farm equipment. Marketing, recordkeeping, or other phases of farm business management, even if done off the farm, were also considered farm work. Capital improvements, housework, and homemaking were not included. NASS started conducting probability labor surveys in January 1974, but estimates based on these surveys were not published until 1975. Survey respondents were scientifically selected from two sources -- a list sampling frame and an area sampling frame. This sampling technique is often referred to as a multiple frame or dual frame design. 1The statistical procedures used provided more reliable data than previous methods by assuring that large and specialized farm labor employers were adequately represented. This sampling process also permitted measurement of data reliability. Operations on the list were stratified into groups of similar farms by gross value of sales or number of hired workers. Operations with estimated gross sales over $100,000 ($80,000 in some States) and those with hired workers were eligible for sample selection. These farms accounted for about two- thirds of the hired workers. A simple random, stratified sample was drawn in replicates for each State. Two replicates were surveyed each quarter, and one was rotated the following quarter. The U.S. list sample included about 11,000 farms each survey. In an area sampling frame, all farms in the United States have a chance of being selected in the sample. For the labor surveys, a simple stratified sample of farms not accounted for by the list frame was selected from the area frame. Since 1984, the peak number of hired workers reported on the Farm Costs and Returns Survey (FCRS) was used to post-stratify the farms in preparation for sample selection. About 3,500 farms were selected each quarter; they mainly represented the smaller operations which had about one-third of the hired workers. Beginning in 1989, the June Agricultural Survey replaced the FCRS as the source of farms in the area labor sample. Labor surveys are currently conducted in January, April, July, and October by the State Statistical Offices (SSO's) in all States except Alaska. The reference week is the Sunday through Saturday period that includes the 12th day of the month. This corresponds to the week specified in the general employment and wage series of other Federal agencies. In recent years, about 70 percent of the data have been collected by telephone. Face-to-face interviews are used for operations with large numbers of workers and those requiring special handling or nonresponse follow-up. Limited use is made of mail questionnaires, and in fifteen SSO's data are collected using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI). Survey data are reviewed and edited by SSO statisticians for consistency before summarization. They then analyze the data and prepare official State estimates. Work performed on a farm is considered an agricultural service when the provider (crew leader, labor contractor, etc.) is paid on a fee or contract basis for the use of materials, equipment, or labor. Some examples are: picking fruit, custom combining grains, and veterinarian work done on the farm. To collect information on number of workers performing agricultural services on farms and their wages, California and Florida poll a sample of agricultural service firms. Also, service firms reported by sampled farmers in these States are contacted if they are not on the agricultural service list. All other States obtain the number of agricultural service workers who worked on farms during the survey week from the farm operators selected in the survey. Wages are not collected for these workers. ESTIMATES Setting Estimates During the nonprobability years, an average number of workers per farm was expanded to State totals for the estimated number of farms. Places were classified as farms if they had 10 acres or more and sales of $50 or more, or had sales of $250 or more without regard to acreage. Regional and U.S. total estimates were then calculated from the State estimates. Measures of statistical reliability were not possible since the data were not from a probability sample. Direct expansion of the quarterly probability survey data provided indications used in setting farm labor estimates after 1974. The farm definition included any operations that sold, or normally would have sold, at least $1,000 worth of agricultural products during the previous year. Ranches and specialty operations such as greenhouses, fur farms, and apiaries are included in the definition of farms. The individual State estimates were transmitted to headquarters for compilation of the U.S. and regional estimates. Time series relationships were used to detect unusual departures from the general trend in worker numbers, hours worked, or wage rates. Weather conditions and work activities during the survey week were also considered. Gross wages were divided by hours worked to arrive at an hourly rate for all hired workers, by method of pay, and by type of worker. Wage rates reported are before deductions for taxes, insurance, or other withholdings. They do not include the value of benefits provided to some workers or wages earned by agricultural service workers. Service worker rates were published separately for California and Florida. Reliability of Estimates Standard error, or relative sampling error, is a statistical measure of the variation in survey data that occurs by chance because of sampling. The true value is expected to be within the range of two standard errors below to two standard errors above to survey indication nineteen times out of twenty. The relative sampling error for the number of workers is about 2 to 3 percent at the National level and ranges between 10 and 20 percent for most regions. Wage rates have relative sampling errors of about 2 to 4 percent at both the U.S. and regional levels. Wage rates by type of farm and economic class of farm at the regional level have sampling errors ranging between 4.0 and 6.0 percent. Data Limitations Currently, operations with gross value of sales below $5,000 account for about one-third of the total number of farms. Many operators of these small places may not have had any farm activities during the survey week and therefore are not included in the count of self-employed workers. There may be some duplication in workers, since they could have worked on more than one farm during the survey week, and thus be counted more than once. This type of duplication is expected when information is collected from employers. No demographic data about the workers are available from the Agricultural Labor Survey. Surveys of employees, such as the Bureau of Census Current Population Survey, provide some of this information. The Agricultural Labor Survey does not provide a measure of total labor expenditures for agricultural production. The Farm Costs and Returns Survey (FCRS) conducted by NASS each year provides an estimate of total expenditures for farm labor back to 1971. Wages as reported do not include the value of benefits which may be provided, such as housing or meals. Benefits provided to some agricultural workers greatly increase their real income. Information on total value of benefits provided to agricultural workers is obtained on the FCRS.