Sp Sy 8 (5-06) Farm Labor National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released May 19, 2006, 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 Down 4 Percent, Wage Rates Up 5 Percent From a Year Ago There were 956,000 hired workers on the Nation’s farms and ranches during the week of April 9-15, 2006, down 4 percent from a year ago. Of these hired workers, 718,000 workers were hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 238,000 workers. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $9.79 per hour during the April 2006 reference week, up 44 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $8.96 per hour, up 40 cents from last April, while livestock workers earned $9.30 per hour compared with $9.14 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $9.07 per hour, was up 35 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged 40.8 hours for hired workers during the survey week, up 2 percent from a year ago. The largest decreases in the number of hired farm workers from last year occurred in California and in the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina) and Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia) regions. In California, eight consecutive weeks of rain and unseasonably cool weather caused major delays in fieldwork across the northern two-thirds of the State. These factors, along with the ongoing worker shortages due to the continued tight security at the Mexican border and the controversy over immigration, have combined to keep the number of hired workers much lower than last year. Persistent dryness over the Southeast region has kept soil moisture levels inadequate for field preparation and planting, reducing the need for field workers. Pasture growth in the region has been severely curtailed by the lack of rain, delaying movement of cattle to grazing and decreasing the demand for livestock workers. In the Appalachian II region, late thunderstorms just prior to the reference week left soils too wet to work and caused delays in field activity. Therefore, fewer hired workers were needed. The largest increases in the number of hired farm workers from a year ago were in the Delta (Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), Appalachian I (North Carolina and Virginia), and Corn Belt I (Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) regions, and in Florida. In the Delta region, a return to more normal weather patterns compared to last year's cool, wet reference week caused hired worker numbers to be higher. Continued dry conditions in the Appalachian I region kept pastures from greening up, necessitating more supplemental feeding and heightening the demand for livestock workers. In the Corn Belt I region, cold, damp weather just prior to the reference week had put many field activities on hold. Considerably warmer, drier conditions during the reference week allowed fieldwork to gain momentum, increasing the need for hired workers. Strong demand from the nursery and greenhouse industries in Florida caused more field workers to be required. Hired farm worker wage rates were generally above a year ago in most regions. The largest increases occurred in the Northeast II (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), Northeast I (New England and New York), Corn Belt I and Mountain I (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) regions. In the Northeast I and II regions, the higher wages were due to a larger than normal percentage of nursery and greenhouse workers in the work force. The higher wages in the Corn Belt I region were due to a lower proportion of part time workers in the work force, strong demand from the nursery and greenhouse industries, and the increasing need for highly skilled machine operators on grain farms. In the Mountain I region, the higher wages were due to more salaried workers putting in fewer hours and a high percentage of nursery and greenhouse workers. Farm Labor: Employment and Wage Rates, United States, April 9-15, 2006, with Comparisons 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 10-16, : January 8-14, : April 9-15, Farm Employment : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : Hired Workers : 753 *614 718 150 Days or More : 600 *512 580 149 Days or Less : 153 *102 138 : Agricultural Services : Workers Working on Farms : 247 180 238 : Hired Farm & Service Workers : 1,000 *794 956 : : : Hours per Week : Hours Worked : Hired : 39.9 38.2 40.8 : : : Dollars per Hour : Wage Rate for : All Hired Workers 2/ 3/ : 9.35 *10.10 9.79 : Field & Livestock Combined : 8.72 *9.17 9.07 Field : 8.56 *9.11 8.96 Livestock : 9.14 *9.26 9.30 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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, April 9-15, 2006 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 : 34 28 6 43.1 Northeast II : 25 20 5 40.2 : Appalachian I : 34 27 7 39.9 Appalachian II : 29 20 9 37.3 : Southeast : 31 24 7 36.5 FL : 52 44 8 40.4 : Lake : 57 40 17 38.0 : Cornbelt I : 45 38 7 42.4 Cornbelt II : 27 23 4 38.3 : Delta : 34 26 8 40.6 : Northern Plains : 27 21 6 39.4 : Southern Plains : 55 42 13 39.2 : Mountain I : 23 19 4 44.1 Mountain II : 19 17 2 50.6 Mountain III : 17 16 1 48.7 : Pacific : 65 52 13 37.5 CA : 137 117 20 43.1 : HI : 7 6 1 36.6 : US 3/ : 718 580 138 40.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, April 9-15, 2006 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 : 9.71 9.54 9.65 10.49 Northeast II : 10.54 8.80 10.10 10.75 : Appalachian I : 8.84 8.34 8.70 9.48 Appalachian II : 8.20 7.75 8.00 8.85 : Southeast : 8.49 8.68 8.55 9.19 FL : 8.37 8.50 8.39 9.19 : Lake : 9.32 9.94 9.63 10.30 : Cornbelt I : 10.18 9.52 10.00 10.49 Cornbelt II : 8.45 10.38 9.46 10.12 : Delta : 7.64 8.15 7.75 8.00 : Northern Plains : 9.67 8.64 9.25 9.84 : Southern Plains : 8.24 9.06 8.64 9.37 : Mountain I : 9.20 8.57 8.81 9.22 Mountain II : 8.39 8.98 8.65 9.08 Mountain III : 8.14 9.13 8.60 9.17 : Pacific : 9.24 10.13 9.45 10.10 CA : 8.95 10.85 9.22 10.19 : HI 4/ : 9.79 9.93 11.96 : US 3/ : 8.96 9.30 9.07 9.79 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, January 8-14, 2006 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 : 23 22 1 38.1 Northeast II : 24 21 3 38.1 : Appalachian I : 26 23 3 33.9 Appalachian II : 24 15 9 32.1 : Southeast : 28 23 5 34.5 FL : 49 38 11 39.2 : Lake : 43 37 6 37.8 : Cornbelt I : 37 32 5 36.1 Cornbelt II : 25 23 2 36.5 : Delta : 25 18 7 31.2 : Northern Plains : 23 19 4 39.5 : Southern Plains : 43 37 6 39.2 : Mountain I : 17 16 1 35.9 Mountain II : 22 20 2 43.2 Mountain III : 21 16 5 46.9 : Pacific : 52 43 9 35.8 CA : *125 *103 *22 *41.6 : HI : 7 6 1 37.5 : US 3/ : *614 *512 *102 38.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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, January 8-14, 2006 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 : 10.42 8.80 9.56 11.04 Northeast II : 9.89 7.79 9.29 10.56 : Appalachian I : 9.35 9.61 9.48 10.29 Appalachian II : 8.17 9.73 8.78 9.61 : Southeast : 8.74 8.77 8.75 9.45 FL : 8.80 8.80 8.80 9.55 : Lake : 10.33 9.30 9.69 10.73 : Cornbelt I : 11.79 9.51 10.55 11.33 Cornbelt II : 9.61 10.69 10.52 11.50 : Delta : 7.90 8.40 8.12 8.68 : Northern Plains : 10.59 9.25 9.75 10.31 : Southern Plains : 7.53 8.74 8.17 8.89 : Mountain I : 8.68 8.17 8.27 8.99 Mountain II : 8.12 8.64 8.42 9.32 Mountain III : 8.02 9.12 8.40 9.35 : Pacific : 9.36 10.47 9.48 10.25 CA : *8.99 *10.50 *9.20 *10.30 : HI 4/ : 10.14 10.27 11.95 : US 3/ : *9.11 *9.26 *9.17 *10.10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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, April 10-16, 2005 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 : 34 28 6 38.6 Northeast II : 26 22 4 39.8 : Appalachian I : 28 24 4 34.3 Appalachian II : 32 24 8 34.7 : Southeast : 36 26 10 32.0 FL : 49 41 8 38.7 : Lake : 55 38 17 34.8 : Cornbelt I : 41 30 11 37.7 Cornbelt II : 27 20 7 34.2 : Delta : 28 24 4 39.4 : Northern Plains : 27 22 5 40.3 : Southern Plains : 55 47 8 42.3 : Mountain I : 24 20 4 44.5 Mountain II : 20 17 3 41.6 Mountain III : 18 17 1 44.8 : Pacific : 64 47 17 40.2 CA : 182 147 35 45.0 : HI : 7 6 1 39.6 : US 3/ : 753 600 153 39.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 10-16, 2005 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 : 9.01 8.51 8.83 9.47 Northeast II : 9.24 8.62 9.05 9.65 : Appalachian I : 8.38 8.85 8.50 9.07 Appalachian II : 8.38 7.69 8.08 8.59 : Southeast : 8.41 8.30 8.38 8.83 FL : 8.20 9.90 8.37 9.31 : Lake : 8.99 10.05 9.45 9.95 : Cornbelt I : 8.84 9.17 8.91 9.51 Cornbelt II : 8.85 9.27 9.06 9.38 : Delta : 7.37 7.18 7.34 7.64 : Northern Plains : 9.33 9.69 9.46 9.70 : Southern Plains : 8.13 9.15 8.53 9.28 : Mountain I : 7.89 8.49 8.23 8.43 Mountain II : 7.70 8.41 8.02 8.50 Mountain III : 7.95 9.40 8.51 9.18 : Pacific : 8.87 10.78 9.23 9.95 CA : 8.62 9.60 8.76 9.48 : HI 4/ : 9.67 9.79 11.33 : US 3/ : 8.56 9.14 8.72 9.35 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 10-16, 2005 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other : Livestock & : All : Crops : Crops : Poultry : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 8.57 9.48 8.23 8.93 Appalachian : 7.95 8.52 8.06 8.26 Southeast : 7.54 8.28 8.87 8.37 Lake : 9.33 9.06 9.96 9.45 Cornbelt : 8.67 8.74 9.47 8.97 Delta : 7.28 7.09 7.12 7.34 Northern Plains : 9.76 8.39 9.64 9.46 Southern Plains : 7.93 8.87 8.87 8.53 Mountain : 8.36 8.08 8.44 8.26 Pacific : 9.43 8.55 3/ 8.92 48 States : 8.44 8.59 9.15 8.73 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Field and Livestock Workers Combined: Wage Rates, by Type of Farm, by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 9-15, 2006 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other : Livestock & : All : Crops : Crops : Poultry : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 9.63 10.18 9.20 9.84 Appalachian : 7.81 8.70 8.26 8.39 Southeast : 8.26 8.39 8.49 8.45 Lake : 3/ 9.65 9.78 9.63 Cornbelt : 3/ 8.47 9.07 9.82 Delta : 7.62 7.88 8.12 7.75 Northern Plains : 9.76 9.84 8.63 9.25 Southern Plains : 8.10 8.34 9.35 8.64 Mountain : 8.71 8.80 8.77 8.68 Pacific : 9.56 9.00 10.32 9.28 48 States : 9.42 8.93 9.14 9.07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 10-16, 2005 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 : 9.41 9.10 8.04 8.85 9.54 10.36 9.55 Appal. : 8.17 9.17 7.61 8.99 8.57 9.81 8.81 S. East : 6.40 3/ 9.45 9.21 8.16 9.44 9.13 Lake : 9.06 9.35 9.46 9.12 9.45 10.80 9.95 Cornbelt : 9.20 8.10 8.74 8.40 9.19 10.33 9.46 Delta : 6.15 7.95 7.20 8.44 6.95 8.23 7.64 N. Plains : 7.60 6.84 9.61 9.21 8.49 10.93 9.70 S. Plains : 8.22 8.32 8.91 8.82 7.92 10.13 9.28 Mountain : 6.78 3/ 7.59 7.42 9.60 9.07 8.67 Pacific : 8.62 8.54 9.31 9.22 9.28 9.75 9.60 48 States : 8.20 9.12 8.50 8.77 8.76 9.85 9.32 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 9-15, 2006 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 : 10.61 9.46 7.90 9.89 9.36 11.61 10.60 Appal. : 7.84 9.65 7.32 8.13 9.48 10.16 9.20 S. East : 7.31 7.35 7.77 9.38 9.87 9.34 9.19 Lake : 7.77 11.88 11.52 3/ 9.72 10.26 10.30 Cornbelt : 10.70 9.36 7.02 9.28 9.15 10.04 10.36 Delta : 8.08 8.68 8.71 7.95 8.86 7.74 8.00 N. Plains : 9.63 3/ 8.86 8.54 9.60 10.79 9.84 S. Plains : 8.12 9.62 8.99 11.49 7.89 9.83 9.37 Mountain : 7.84 8.96 9.14 7.30 9.95 9.74 9.16 Pacific : 11.15 10.18 9.67 10.53 10.04 10.12 10.16 48 States : 8.83 9.78 8.56 9.71 9.59 10.08 9.77 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 : April 10-16, : January 8-14, : April 9-15, Farm : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Field and Livestock Workers : Field Crops : 14 9 10 Other Crops : 56 49 54 Livestock, Dairy, : & Poultry : 30 42 36 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Economic Class of Farm, 48 States 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Value : April 10-16, : January 8-14, : April 9-15, of Sales : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers : Less than $50,000 : 11 12 10 $50,000-$99,999 : 6 5 5 $100,000-$249,999 : 11 11 10 $250,000-$499,999 : 11 10 11 $500,000-$999,999 : 12 9 11 $1,000,000 and over : 49 53 53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Category, United States, 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : April 10-16, : January 8-14, : April 9-15, Category : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers Employed on Farms Hiring : 1 Worker : 11 13 10 2 Workers : 10 9 10 3-6 Workers : 16 17 17 7-10 Workers : 8 9 9 11-20 Workers : 12 10 12 21-50 Workers : 13 12 14 51 or more Workers : 30 30 28 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ 48 States, excluding AK and HI. 2/ Field and Livestock Workers combined. 3/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. Agricultural Services Agricultural service operations provided 238,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of April 9-15, 2006. Agricultural service workers in California numbered 83,000 this April, down 4 percent from last year. Florida's number of agricultural service workers was 8,000, down 20 percent from last year. The average wages received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $9.81 and $9.60 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in April 2005 were $9.35 in California and $9.10 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:------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Apr : Jan : Apr : Apr : Jan : Apr : Apr : Jan : Apr : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 : 2005 : 2006 : 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- Hours ------ Dollars per Hour : CA : 97.0 82.0 83.0 37.3 32.5 33.4 9.35 9.28 9.81 FL : 10.0 9.0 8.0 39.0 40.0 40.0 9.10 9.20 9.60 : US : 247.0 180.0 238.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 $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: 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. This also includes custom crews and crew leaders. 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 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 April 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 April 9-15, 2006. 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 29 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 1.1 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 9 percent at the regional levels. Relative sampling errors for wage rates published by type of farm and economic class of farm generally ranged between 3 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 April 2005 and January 2006 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. Index Page U.S. Hired Workers on Farms, Wage Rates and Hours Worked3 Number of Workers and Average Hours Worked by Region and U.S. April 2006. . . . . . . . . 4 January 2006. . . . . . . . 6 April 2005. . . . . . . . . 8 Wage Rates by Region and U.S. April 2006. . . . . . . . . 5 January 2006. . . . . . . . 7 April 2005. . . . . . . . . 9 Agricultural Services: Workers, Average Hours Worked, and Wages April 2006. . . . . . . . .13 January 2006. . . . . . . .13 April 2005. . . . . . . . .13 Other Labor Estimates U.S. Distribution of Workers12 Wage Rates by Type of Farm, by Region, State, 48 States10 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 Estimates17 Revision Policy. . . . . . . . .17 The next Farm Labor report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on August 18, 2006. ACCESS TO REPORTS!! 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