Sp Sy 8 (8-04) Farm Labor National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released August 20, 2004, 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 2 Percent, Wage Rates Up 2 Percent From a Year Ago There were 1,293,000 hired workers on the Nation’s farms and ranches during the week of July 11-17, 2004, up 2 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 340,000 workers. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $9.10 per hour during the July 2004 reference week, up 22 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $8.42 per hour, up 25 cents from last July, while livestock workers earned $8.75 per hour compared with $8.57 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $8.50 per hour, was up 24 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged 39.3 hours for hired workers during the survey week, down 1 percent from a year ago. The largest increases in the number of hired farm workers from last year occurred in the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina), Northeast II (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania), Lake (Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin), Southern Plains (Oklahoma and Texas), Mountain III (Arizona and New Mexico), and Delta (Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi) regions. Despite moderate rains in the Southeast region, peach harvest remained in full swing. Peach production was expected to be much higher than last year in Alabama and South Carolina, thus increasing the requirement for field workers. In the Northeast II region, continued expansion in the beef, dairy and greenhouse industries caused increased demand for hired workers. Warm weather in the Lake region accelerated vegetable development which necessitated more field workers to keep up with the harvest. In the Southern Plains and Mountain III regions, irrigation of cropland increased and supplemental feeding of livestock became active as pastures deteriorated, both of which caused more hired workers to be required. After several weeks of excessive rain in the Delta region, the reference week was relatively dry, which led to increased field activity. Therefore, more hired workers were needed. The largest decreases in the number of hired farm workers from a year ago were in California, Florida, the Northeast I (New England and New York), Corn Belt I (Illinois, Indiana and Ohio), and Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia) regions. In California, worker demand was lower partially due to below normal temperatures prior to the reference week which slowed crop development. Also, some melon fields were plowed under and some stonefruit orchards were left unpicked due to low prices, both of which lessened the need for hired workers. Rain and muddy conditions halted field activities in New York, southern Indiana and much of Florida, thus reducing the demand for hired workers in the Northeast I and Corn Belt I regions and in Florida. In the Appalachian II region, above normal rainfall kept pastures green which lessened the need for supplemental feeding and reduced the demand for hired workers. Hired farm worker wage rates were generally above a year ago in most regions. The largest increases occurred in the Mountain II (Colorado, Nevada and Utah), Southeast, Pacific (Oregon and Washington), Southern Plains, and Appalachian I (North Carolina and Virginia) regions. The higher wages in the Mountain II region were mainly due to a larger concentration of salaried workers putting in fewer hours and a higher proportion of skilled workers needed for the apricot harvest in Utah. In the Southeast region, wages were up because of a larger percentage of fruit and greenhouse workers in the work force. The higher wages in the Pacific region were because of the increased demand for skilled workers to keep up with harvest of the rapidly developing stonefruit and berry crops. In the Southern Plains region, wages were up due to continued strength in cattle prices causing a strong demand for hired workers on beef operations. Wages were higher in the Appalachian I region because of a lower proportion of part-time workers in the work force. Farm Labor: Employment and Wage Rates, United States, July 11-17, 2004, with Comparisons 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 6-12, : April 11-17, : July 11-17, Farm Employment : 2003 : 2004 : 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : Hired Workers : 943 *827 953 150 Days or More : 680 *651 637 149 Days or Less : 263 *176 316 : Agricultural Services : Workers Working on Farms : 320 *257 340 : Hired Farm & Service Workers : 1,263 *1,084 1,293 : : : Hours per Week : Hours Worked : Hired : 39.8 *40.6 39.3 : : : Dollars per Hour : Wage Rate for : All Hired Workers 2/ 3/ : 8.88 *9.23 9.10 : Field & Livestock Combined : 8.26 *8.59 8.50 Field : 8.17 *8.47 8.42 Livestock : 8.57 8.95 8.75 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Excludes AK. 2/ Benefits, such as housing and meals, are provided to 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 11-17, 2004 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 : 43 32 11 39.9 Northeast II : 52 35 17 37.2 : Appalachian I : 51 30 21 34.8 Appalachian II : 33 14 19 27.9 : Southeast : 44 30 14 35.6 FL : 39 33 6 39.2 : Lake : 69 40 29 36.4 : Cornbelt I : 50 33 17 34.7 Cornbelt II : 24 15 9 38.3 : Delta : 31 23 8 39.1 : Northern Plains : 39 23 16 37.4 : Southern Plains : 68 48 20 37.8 : Mountain I : 34 24 10 47.8 Mountain II : 23 16 7 41.1 Mountain III : 24 21 3 45.0 : Pacific : 112 47 65 37.3 CA : 210 167 43 45.6 : HI : 7 6 1 39.4 : US 3/ : 953 637 316 39.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 11-17, 2004 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 : 9.31 8.14 8.89 9.72 Northeast II : 7.90 8.79 8.09 8.81 : Appalachian I : 8.07 8.25 8.10 8.67 Appalachian II : 7.63 8.40 7.84 8.16 : Southeast : 8.19 8.68 8.34 8.88 FL : 8.70 9.10 8.78 9.63 : Lake : 8.29 9.13 8.55 9.30 : Cornbelt I : 8.80 8.96 8.85 9.60 Cornbelt II : 8.08 8.61 8.35 8.70 : Delta : 7.26 7.58 7.35 7.65 : Northern Plains : 8.24 9.22 8.52 8.86 : Southern Plains : 7.59 8.18 7.81 8.58 : Mountain I : 7.91 7.89 7.90 8.23 Mountain II : 8.63 9.39 8.90 9.47 Mountain III : 7.45 8.24 7.73 8.34 : Pacific : 8.88 8.90 8.88 9.25 CA : 8.69 9.90 8.85 9.50 : HI 4/ : 9.77 9.90 11.46 : US 3/ : 8.42 8.75 8.50 9.10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 11-17, 2004 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 : 37 29 8 39.1 Northeast II : 31 25 6 39.3 : Appalachian I : 27 20 7 36.6 Appalachian II : 35 23 12 36.2 : Southeast : 37 27 10 37.1 FL : 57 53 4 38.3 : Lake : 57 43 14 35.5 : Cornbelt I : 44 32 12 40.6 Cornbelt II : 28 22 6 33.7 : Delta : 25 19 6 39.8 : Northern Plains : 31 24 7 42.3 : Southern Plains : 46 38 8 41.0 : Mountain I : 24 21 3 42.8 Mountain II : 26 20 6 40.8 Mountain III : 17 16 1 45.7 : Pacific : 64 43 21 36.8 CA : *234 *190 *44 *45.9 : HI : 7 6 1 37.7 : US 3/ : *827 *651 *176 *40.6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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 11-17, 2004 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 : 9.47 8.81 9.18 10.35 Northeast II : 8.68 8.87 8.73 9.25 : Appalachian I : 8.01 8.38 8.14 8.82 Appalachian II : 8.48 8.62 8.55 9.06 : Southeast : 7.88 8.71 8.12 8.42 FL : 7.85 8.60 7.94 8.79 : Lake : 9.20 9.95 9.60 10.10 : Cornbelt I : 9.04 8.87 9.00 9.74 Cornbelt II : 9.04 9.03 9.04 9.48 : Delta : 7.75 7.47 7.70 7.86 : Northern Plains : 8.87 8.51 8.73 8.95 : Southern Plains : 7.50 7.93 7.62 8.13 : Mountain I : 8.14 8.41 8.31 8.57 Mountain II : 9.66 8.83 9.29 9.84 Mountain III : 7.55 8.20 7.81 8.37 : Pacific : 9.02 10.16 9.16 9.91 CA : *8.42 *9.83 *8.56 *9.30 : HI 4/ : 9.51 9.66 11.26 : US 3/ : *8.47 8.95 *8.59 *9.23 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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 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 3/ : or Less 3/ : 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 : 225 205 20 45.7 : HI : 7 6 1 36.7 : US 3/ : 943 680 263 39.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 14. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers by Region and United States, 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 : 8.43 9.65 8.55 9.22 : HI 4/ : 9.55 9.55 11.25 : US 3/ : 8.17 8.57 8.26 8.88 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 11-17, 2004 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other : Livestock & : All : Crops : Crops : Poultry : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 9.14 8.33 8.56 8.45 Appalachian : 7.72 8.44 7.93 8.01 Southeast : 8.94 8.32 3/ 8.56 Lake : 9.38 8.19 8.98 8.55 Cornbelt : 8.57 8.64 8.78 8.67 Delta : 6.97 8.10 7.55 7.35 Northern Plains : 8.89 8.67 8.15 8.52 Southern Plains : 7.00 8.30 8.05 7.81 Mountain : 7.21 8.66 7.93 8.15 Pacific : 9.10 8.71 9.74 8.86 48 States : 8.05 8.57 8.57 8.50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 11-17, 2004 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/: Gross Value Sales-$1,000's : :-----------------------------------------------------------: All : <50 : 50-99 : 100-249 : 250-499 : 500-999 : 1,000+ : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : N. East : 9.69 8.86 8.42 9.57 10.05 9.19 9.24 Appal. : 7.88 7.77 7.54 9.04 7.75 9.68 8.50 S. East : 8.98 8.69 9.10 9.16 8.55 9.65 9.25 Lake : 3/ 8.22 8.73 9.01 9.83 9.01 9.30 Cornbelt : 8.65 7.69 8.73 9.77 8.17 10.16 9.29 Delta : 7.65 6.47 8.20 7.03 7.24 7.77 7.65 N. Plains : 7.02 6.86 8.17 8.60 9.45 3/ 8.86 S. Plains : 8.39 7.15 9.19 8.42 8.01 8.93 8.58 Mountain : 9.52 7.80 7.75 9.32 7.30 8.87 8.58 Pacific : 3/ 9.08 9.23 8.38 9.30 9.53 9.42 48 States : 9.20 8.21 8.67 8.89 8.70 9.44 9.08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 6-12, : April 11-17, : July 11-17, Farm : 2003 : 2004 : 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Field and Livestock Workers : Field Crops : 12 12 15 Other Crops : 59 57 54 Livestock, Dairy, : & Poultry : 29 31 31 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Economic Class of Farm, 48 States 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Value : July 6-12, : April 11-17, : July 11-17, of Sales : 2003 : 2004 : 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers : Less than $50,000 : 14 11 15 $50,000-$99,999 : 6 7 6 $100,000-$249,999 : 13 22 13 $250,000-$499,999 : 10 10 11 $500,000-$999,999 : 12 11 12 $1,000,000 and over : 45 39 43 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Category, United States, 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 6-12, : April 11-17, : July 11-17, Category : 2003 : 2004 : 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers Employed on Farms Hiring : 1 Worker : 9 9 9 2 Workers : 10 10 10 3-6 Workers : 17 18 19 7-10 Workers : 7 7 9 11-20 Workers : 10 11 10 21-50 Workers : 15 11 14 51 or more Workers : 32 34 29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 340,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of July 11-17, 2004. Service workers in California numbered 125,000 this July, unchanged from last year. Florida's number of service workers was 3,000, also unchanged from last year. The average wages received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $8.63 and $9.70 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in July 2003 were $9.36 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 : 2003 : 2004 : 2004 : 2003 : 2004 : 2004 : 2003 : 2004 : 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- Hours ------ Dollars per Hour : CA : 125.0 112.0 125.0 36.2 36.9 36.9 9.36 8.70 8.63 FL : 3.0 9.0 3.0 41.0 38.0 45.0 9.25 9.25 9.70 : US : 320.0 257.0 340.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 11-17, 2004. 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 0.7 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 8 percent at the regional levels. Relative sampling errors for wage rates published by type of farm and economic class of farm generally ranged between 1 and 23 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 2003 and April 2004 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 19th report will have information for the survey week of October 10-16, 2004. 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 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 April 2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 July 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Wage Rates by Region and U.S. July 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 April 2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 July 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Agricultural Services: Workers, Average Hours Worked, and Wages July 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 April 2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 July 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .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 States11 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 19, 2004. 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