Sp Sy 8 (8-03) Farm Labor National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released August 15, 2003, 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 Up 1 Percent, Wage Rates Up 4 Percent From a Year Ago There were 1,273,000 hired workers on the Nation s farms and ranches the week of July 6-12, 2003, up 1 percent from a year ago. Of these hired workers, 953,000 workers were hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 320,000 workers. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $8.88 per hour during the July 2003 reference week, up 31 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $8.18 per hour, up 28 cents from last July, while livestock workers earned $8.62 per hour compared with $8.38 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $8.28 per hour, was up 26 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged 40.0 hours for hired workers during the survey week, unchanged from a year ago. The largest increases in number of hired farm workers over last year occurred in the Pacific (Oregon and Washington), Northeast I (New England and New York), Mountain II (Colorado, Nevada and Utah) and Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia) regions. In the Pacific region, the Washington cherry harvest continued at peak levels much longer than normal, and ideal weather in Oregon allowed the cherry and raspberry harvests to progress rapidly. The cool, wet spring in the Northeast I region delayed planting of field and vegetable crops, which pushed many of the normal mid-June field activities into the survey reference week, resulting in an increased demand for field workers. Production of apricots and cherries in Utah was up considerably from the freeze-damaged 2002 production levels, and winter wheat harvest was in full swing in Colorado, which caused a greater need for hired workers in the Mountain II region. Dry, seasonable weather in Tennessee more than offset the persistent wet conditions over much of Kentucky and West Virginia, causing more hired workers to be necessary in the Appalachian II region. The largest decreases in number of hired farm workers from a year ago were in California, the Southern Plains (Oklahoma and Texas), Delta (Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi), Appalachian I (North Carolina and Virginia) and Corn Belt II (Iowa and Missouri) regions. In California, extreme heat during the two weeks prior to the reference week matured vegetables and strawberries rapidly, causing many fields to be harvested in order to minimize crop loss. Therefore, considerably fewer workers were needed during the reference week. In the Southern Plains, pasture grasses were plentiful in most areas, lessening the need for supplemental feeding and thereby reducing the demand for livestock workers. Also, scattered rains delayed vegetable harvest in east Texas, lowering the need for field workers. Rain and saturated soils kept field worker demand low in the Delta, Appalachian I and Corn Belt II regions, and poor drying conditions in the Delta region caused hay harvest to be delayed. Hired farm worker wage rates were generally above a year ago in most regions. The largest increases occurred in Florida, the Lake (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin), Mountain II, Delta and Southern Plains regions. The higher wages in Florida and the Lake regions were mainly due to a higher percentage of nursery and greenhouse workers in the work force. Wages in the Mountain II region were higher due to the need for more skilled workers for the fruit harvest. The wet conditions in the Delta region kept wage rates higher, due to the larger proportion of full time workers on the payroll. In the Southern Plains, there were more salaried workers putting in fewer hours, which led to higher average wages. Publication Changes: On page 11, there are now additional wage rate categories by economic class of farm, by region and for the 48 States. Prior reports had these wage rates only up to farms with gross value of sales of $250,000 or more. The new categories are $250,000 - $499,999; $500,000 - $999,999; and $1,000,000 or more. On page 12, the distribution of hired workers by these new classes is also provided. Finally, the distribution of hired workers by the number of workers hired by each farm has been expanded. Prior reports stopped with farms hiring At least 11 Workers. The new categories, also on page 12, are 11-20 Workers, 21-50 Workers and 51 or more Workers. Farm Labor: Employment and Wage Rates, United States, July 6-12, 2003, with Comparisons 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 7-13, : April 6-12, : July 6-12, Farm Employment : 2002 : 2003 : 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : Hired Workers : 1,006 781 953 150 Days or More : 723 619 678 149 Days or Less : 283 162 275 : Agricultural Services : Workers Working on Farms : 256 157 320 : Hired Farm & Service Workers : 1,262 938 1,273 : : : Hours per Week : Hours Worked : Hired : 40.0 40.1 40.0 : : : Dollars per Hour : Wage Rate for : All Hired Workers 2/ 3/ : 8.57 9.16 8.88 : Field & Livestock Combined : 8.02 8.49 8.28 Field : 7.90 8.40 8.18 Livestock : 8.38 8.75 8.62 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, July 6-12, 2003 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 : 53 39 14 40.2 Northeast II : 45 33 12 40.5 : Appalachian I : 53 28 25 32.0 Appalachian II : 36 19 17 32.6 : Southeast : 35 21 14 37.2 FL : 45 39 6 39.0 : Lake : 62 42 20 36.2 : Cornbelt I : 53 33 20 33.2 Cornbelt II : 23 17 6 36.7 : Delta : 25 18 7 38.8 : Northern Plains : 37 23 14 43.9 : Southern Plains : 61 49 12 38.2 : Mountain I : 31 22 9 46.7 Mountain II : 24 16 8 44.5 Mountain III : 18 16 2 47.7 : Pacific : 110 54 56 36.3 CA : 235 203 32 46.1 : HI : 7 6 1 36.7 : US 3/ : 953 678 275 40.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Workers and All Hired Workers by Region and United States, July 6-12, 2003 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 : 8.77 8.10 8.54 9.54 Northeast II : 8.18 8.56 8.25 8.93 : Appalachian I : 7.61 8.17 7.76 8.30 Appalachian II : 7.79 7.98 7.88 8.27 : Southeast : 7.55 7.87 7.61 8.08 FL : 8.55 8.30 8.51 9.55 : Lake : 8.34 8.95 8.55 9.36 : Cornbelt I : 8.44 9.71 8.78 9.45 Cornbelt II : 9.60 8.87 9.31 9.51 : Delta : 7.13 8.03 7.35 7.70 : Northern Plains : 7.89 8.79 8.15 8.52 : Southern Plains : 7.62 7.58 7.60 8.15 : Mountain I : 7.27 7.41 7.34 7.63 Mountain II : 7.86 8.62 8.06 8.56 Mountain III : 7.11 8.41 7.55 8.07 : Pacific : 8.03 10.95 8.32 8.74 CA : 8.47 9.94 8.61 9.23 : HI 4/ : 9.55 9.55 11.25 : US 3/ : 8.18 8.62 8.28 8.88 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, April 6-12, 2003 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 : 39 31 8 38.4 Northeast II : 30 23 7 39.3 : Appalachian I : 29 24 5 34.7 Appalachian II : 29 17 12 33.7 : Southeast : 27 21 6 37.0 FL : 53 42 11 38.3 : Lake : 56 36 20 37.0 : Cornbelt I : 50 38 12 36.9 Cornbelt II : 24 20 4 36.6 : Delta : 31 25 6 43.1 : Northern Plains : 28 22 6 41.1 : Southern Plains : 49 38 11 40.7 : Mountain I : 19 17 2 46.2 Mountain II : 22 16 6 39.1 Mountain III : 16 15 1 47.3 : Pacific : 52 43 9 40.3 CA : 220 185 35 43.1 : HI : 7 6 1 35.6 : US 3/ : 781 619 162 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 6-12, 2003 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 : 9.76 8.55 9.27 10.24 Northeast II : 8.75 8.20 8.63 9.68 : Appalachian I : 8.18 8.37 8.24 8.77 Appalachian II : 7.32 7.24 7.28 7.64 : Southeast : 7.58 8.78 8.07 8.71 FL : 8.05 8.10 8.06 8.86 : Lake : 9.31 9.20 9.26 9.90 : Cornbelt I : 9.29 9.32 9.30 9.99 Cornbelt II : 9.94 10.00 9.97 10.71 : Delta : 7.20 7.54 7.25 7.63 : Northern Plains : 9.08 9.28 9.16 9.46 : Southern Plains : 7.62 7.98 7.75 8.31 : Mountain I : 7.63 7.68 7.66 7.93 Mountain II : 8.32 8.86 8.60 9.43 Mountain III : 7.10 8.24 7.52 7.93 : Pacific : 8.82 9.28 8.90 9.34 CA : 8.33 10.15 8.48 9.22 : HI 4/ : 9.58 9.63 11.50 : US 3/ : 8.40 8.75 8.49 9.16 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, July 7-13, 2002 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hired :--------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. : : Expected to be Employed : and : Number :-------------------------------: Number Region 2/ : of : 150 Days : 149 Days : of Hours : Workers : or More 3/ : or Less 3/ : Worked -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------------- 1,000 -------------- Hours per Week : Northeast I : 44 30 14 37.8 Northeast II : 46 33 13 42.5 : Appalachian I : 60 39 21 36.5 Appalachian II : 32 16 16 29.6 : Southeast : 34 22 12 33.7 FL : 43 38 5 37.5 : Lake : 62 44 18 34.8 : Cornbelt I : 54 33 21 31.7 Cornbelt II : 30 18 12 32.1 : Delta : 37 26 11 36.9 : Northern Plains : 39 28 11 41.8 : Southern Plains : 74 55 19 39.7 : Mountain I : 30 22 8 48.3 Mountain II : 19 13 6 41.6 Mountain III : 17 14 3 42.8 : Pacific : 98 56 42 39.0 CA : 280 230 50 46.0 : HI : 7 6 1 38.0 : US 3/ : 1,006 723 283 40.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, July 7-13, 2002 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 : 8.41 7.90 8.25 9.12 Northeast II : 7.87 7.18 7.74 8.35 : Appalachian I : 7.61 7.91 7.68 8.32 Appalachian II : 7.22 7.64 7.36 7.75 : Southeast : 7.11 8.90 7.50 8.01 FL : 7.25 7.80 7.38 8.48 : Lake : 7.85 7.85 7.85 8.33 : Cornbelt I : 8.08 9.07 8.36 9.13 Cornbelt II : 8.42 10.72 8.94 9.20 : Delta : 6.70 7.10 6.80 7.07 : Northern Plains : 8.32 8.57 8.41 8.72 : Southern Plains : 7.06 7.23 7.14 7.53 : Mountain I : 7.12 7.74 7.42 7.62 Mountain II : 7.23 7.35 7.27 7.82 Mountain III : 7.15 8.11 7.43 8.03 : Pacific : 8.32 10.65 8.86 9.36 CA : 8.18 9.65 8.32 8.87 : HI 4/ : 9.65 9.67 11.29 : US 3/ : 7.90 8.38 8.02 8.57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 7-13, 2002 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other : Livestock & : All : Crops : Crops : Poultry : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 7.86 8.19 7.57 7.96 Appalachian : 6.89 7.96 7.86 7.58 Southeast : 7.72 7.03 8.27 7.43 Lake : 7.72 7.90 7.83 7.85 Cornbelt : 9.12 8.06 8.72 8.58 Delta : 6.39 6.93 7.30 6.80 Northern Plains : 8.31 8.85 8.36 8.41 Southern Plains : 6.59 7.40 7.19 7.14 Mountain : 7.22 7.09 7.61 7.38 Pacific : 7.96 8.20 9.79 8.44 48 States : 7.55 8.01 8.21 8.02 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 6-12, 2003 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other : Livestock & : All : Crops : Crops : Poultry : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 8.26 8.45 8.30 8.40 Appalachian : 7.15 8.25 7.95 7.81 Southeast : 8.12 8.25 7.47 8.11 Lake : 7.91 8.23 9.07 8.55 Cornbelt : 9.40 8.37 9.26 8.96 Delta : 6.52 6.89 8.36 7.35 Northern Plains : 8.28 9.08 7.82 8.15 Southern Plains : 3/ 7.92 7.27 7.60 Mountain : 7.36 7.79 7.54 7.64 Pacific : 9.89 8.26 3/ 8.53 48 States : 8.26 8.24 8.35 8.28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 7-13, 2002 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 : 8.47 6.75 7.39 8.74 8.65 9.53 8.70 Appal. : 8.17 7.51 8.29 7.67 8.17 8.44 8.15 S. East : 7.87 9.19 8.25 7.66 8.02 8.46 8.28 Lake : 7.63 7.48 7.12 8.42 7.95 9.54 8.33 Cornbelt : 7.42 7.82 8.51 9.65 9.47 9.76 9.16 Delta : 7.16 7.56 6.76 7.48 6.92 6.95 7.07 N. Plains : 6.00 3/ 7.95 8.14 8.77 9.59 8.72 S. Plains : 7.45 8.20 6.40 6.76 7.62 7.84 7.53 Mountain : 7.83 9.65 6.33 7.59 8.29 7.89 7.77 Pacific : 8.29 8.99 7.92 9.20 8.98 9.55 8.98 48 States : 8.02 8.88 7.54 8.39 8.40 8.98 8.55 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 6-12, 2003 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 : 8.73 7.63 8.30 8.06 9.31 10.30 9.26 Appal. : 7.71 6.63 7.97 7.96 8.95 9.20 8.29 S. East : 7.73 7.02 8.86 8.30 7.66 9.61 8.92 Lake : 8.67 7.35 8.24 8.83 7.88 3/ 9.36 Cornbelt : 8.89 8.42 9.12 8.71 9.22 3/ 9.47 Delta : 7.11 7.86 6.75 6.98 8.41 8.52 7.70 N. Plains : 7.62 7.11 7.68 8.02 10.09 9.66 8.52 S. Plains : 7.25 8.54 7.47 7.87 8.12 9.27 8.15 Mountain : 9.05 6.75 7.65 7.42 7.70 8.45 8.04 Pacific : 8.44 8.73 8.97 8.79 8.70 9.29 9.10 48 States : 8.16 7.76 8.29 8.24 8.58 9.52 8.87 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 : July 7-13, : April 6-12, : July 6-12, Farm : 2002 : 2003 : 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Field and Livestock Workers : Field Crops : 13 12 12 Other Crops : 55 58 59 Livestock, Dairy, : & Poultry : 32 30 29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Economic Class of Farm, 48 States 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Value : July 7-13, : April 6-12, : July 6-12, of Sales : 2002 : 2003 : 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers : Less than $50,000 : 18 12 14 $50,000-$99,999 : 26 26 6 $100,000-$249,999 : 10 10 13 $250,000-$499,999 : 10 10 10 $500,000-$999-999 : 10 10 12 $1,000,000 and over : 26 32 45 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Category, United States, 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 7-13, : April 6-12, : July 6-12, Category : 2002 : 2003 : 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers Employed on Farms Hiring : 1 Worker : 9 9 9 2 Workers : 9 9 10 3-6 Workers : 19 19 17 7-10 Workers : 11 10 7 11-20 Workers : 10 11 10 21-50 Workers : 13 11 15 51 or more Workers : 29 31 32 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ 48 States, excluding AK and HI. 2/ Field and Livestock Workers combined. 3/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. Agricultural Services Crew leaders and custom crews provided 320,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of July 6-12, 2003. Service workers in California numbered 125,000 this July, up 23 percent from last year. Florida's number of service workers was 3,000, down 25 percent from last year. The average wages received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $9.36 and $9.25 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in July 2002 were $9.00 in California and $9.25 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:------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jul : Apr : Jul : Jul : Apr : Jul : Jul : Apr : Jul : 2002 : 2003 : 2003 : 2002 : 2003 : 2003 : 2002 : 2003 : 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- Hours ------ Dollars per Hour : CA : 102.0 67.0 125.0 37.2 40.0 36.2 9.00 8.60 9.36 FL : 4.0 17.0 3.0 42.5 33.0 41.0 9.25 9.40 9.25 : US : 256.0 157.0 320.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: Places that sell, or would normally sell, at least $1000 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: Wage rates are calculated based on total wages and hours worked during the survey week. 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: Service on a contract or fee basis such as veterinarian work, artificial insemination, sheep shearing, milk testing, etc., performed on the farm or ranch. 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, 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 value of sales for its agricultural production. The three types of farms are: Field Crops: A farm producing wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, barley, dry beans, rye, sorghum, cotton, popcorn, tobacco, potatoes, sugar crops, hay, peanuts, hops, mint, 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. 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: Gross value includes all income during a year from the sale of crops, livestock, dairy, poultry, or other related agricultural products, including the landlord'sshare. 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 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 6-12, 2003. 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 7 and 19 percent at the regional level. The U.S. all hired farm worker wage rate had a relative sampling error of 1.0 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 7 percent at the regional levels. Relative sampling errors for wage rates published by type of farm and economic class of farm ranged between 1 and 24 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 July 2002 and April 2003 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. Next Farm Labor Publication Date: The November 21st report will have information for the survey week of October 12-18, 2003. The report will include the number of All Hired Workers, Average Hours Worked by Hired Workers and the All Hired Worker Wage Rates at the regional and U.S. levels. The wage rates for field, livestock, and combined field and livestock workers will also be available at the regional and U.S. level. The number of Agricultural Service Workers and the corresponding wage rates will be published for California and Florida. 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. July 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 April 2003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 July 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Wage Rates by Region and U.S. July 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 April 2003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 July 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Agricultural Services: Workers, Average Hours Worked, and Wages July 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 April 2003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 July 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .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 November 21, 2003. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (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 the USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge on the worldwide Internet. 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