Farm Labor National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released August 21, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Farm Labor" call Steve Logan at 202-690-3228, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. Hired Workers Up 3 Percent, Wages Up 5 Percent From a Year Ago There were 1.45 million hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches the week of July 12-18, 1998, up 3 percent from a year ago. There were 1.07 million workers hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 379,000 workers. Migrant workers accounted for 13.7 percent of the July hired workforce compared to 10.8 percent last year. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $7.24 per hour during the July 1998 survey week, up 36 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $6.78 per hour, up 34 cents from last July. Livestock workers earned $6.91 per hour compared with $6.54 a year earlier. The Field and Livestock worker combined wage rate was up 34 cents from last year. Number of hours worked averaged 40.7 hours for hired workers during the survey week compared with 40.9 hours a year ago. The largest increases in hired farm workers over last year were in California, Florida, the Mountain I Region (Idaho, Montana and Wyoming), and Hawaii. In California, field activities increased as favorable weather conditions prevailed in most areas. Harvest activities in Florida picked up after much needed rain helped extinguish wildfires. Increased fieldwork activities, including row crop cultivation, hay baling, irrigating, and equipment preparation for harvest, produced the need for more workers in the Mountain I Region. The largest declines in hired farm workers from a year ago occurred in the Southern Plains, Corn Belt I and II, Delta, and Pacific regions. Drought conditions in the Southern Plains and Delta regions was the primary reason for fewer hired farm workers. In the Corn Belt, fewer hired farm workers were needed during the survey week because rapid crop development has placed farmers ahead of schedule. In the Pacific Northwest, hot, dry weather advanced crop maturity, prompting farm operators to use fewer workers in this region. Hired farm worker wage rates in most regions were above a year ago. The largest increases generally occurred in the Northeastern and Appalachian Regions. Specialty farms, nursery, and greenhouse operations generally reported the highest wages among farm operators. The largest declines in the hired worker wage rates from last year were realized in the Mountain II, Northern Plains, and Southeast regions. Fewer full-time workers reported on the payroll during the survey week contributed to most of the decline in these regions. Sp Sy 8 (8-98) Farm Labor: Employment and Wage Rates, United States, July 12-18, 1998, with Comparisons 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 6-12, : April 12-18, : July 12-18, Farm Employment : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 : Hired Workers : Expected to be Employed : 1,069 803 1,071 150 Days or More : 689 *618 712 149 Days or Less : 380 *185 359 : Agricultural Services : Workers Working on Farms : 340 202 379 : Hired Farm & Service Workers : 1,409 1,005 1,450 : : : Percent : Migrant Workers Percent of : Hired Farm & Service Workers: 10.8 6.6 13.7 : : : Hours per Week : Hours Worked : Hired : 40.9 40.0 40.7 : : : Dollars per Hour : Wage Rates for : All Hired Workers 2/ 3/ : 6.88 *7.49 7.24 : Type of Worker : Field & Livestock Combined : 6.46 7.00 6.80 Field : 6.44 7.00 6.78 Livestock : 6.54 6.99 6.91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 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, July 12-18, 1998 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 : 48 34 14 39.7 Northeast II : 47 30 17 40.7 : Appalachian I : 66 33 33 34.8 Appalachian II : 38 18 20 26.7 : Southeast : 45 30 15 39.5 FL : 45 40 5 41.5 : Lake : 72 40 32 37.3 : Cornbelt I : 50 28 22 32.1 Cornbelt II : 28 21 7 28.7 : Delta : 40 28 12 40.9 : Northern Plains : 45 25 20 42.3 : Southern Plains : 63 45 18 44.4 : Mountain I : 31 20 11 44.7 Mountain II : 30 20 10 41.4 Mountain III : 22 16 6 47.7 : Pacific : 95 43 52 43.9 CA : 298 234 64 44.5 : HI : 8 7 1 36.6 : US 3/ : 1,071 712 359 40.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Workers and All Hired Workers by Region and United States, July 12-18, 1998 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 : 7.27 6.80 7.12 7.58 Northeast II : 6.95 6.20 6.75 7.22 : Appalachian I : 6.24 7.12 6.34 6.70 Appalachian II : 6.07 6.54 6.24 6.59 : Southeast : 6.02 5.82 5.99 6.22 FL : 7.25 6.90 7.21 8.08 : Lake : 6.95 6.41 6.77 7.01 : Cornbelt I : 7.45 7.52 7.47 7.84 Cornbelt II : 6.61 7.62 7.02 7.52 : Delta : 6.20 6.83 6.36 6.75 : Northern Plains : 6.73 6.51 6.69 7.08 : Southern Plains : 5.98 5.98 5.98 6.32 : Mountain I : 6.05 6.47 6.13 6.26 Mountain II : 6.13 7.08 6.39 6.95 Mountain III : 6.11 6.74 6.22 6.65 : Pacific : 6.77 8.70 6.91 7.27 CA : 7.10 8.05 7.19 7.72 : HI 4/ : 8.82 8.91 10.30 : US 3/ : 6.78 6.91 6.80 7.24 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, April 12-18, 1998 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 26 11 37.6 Northeast II : 29 21 8 39.3 : Appalachian I : 26 18 8 38.1 Appalachian II : 28 20 8 32.9 : Southeast : 35 26 9 40.9 FL : 57 43 14 39.9 : Lake : 59 46 13 33.7 : Cornbelt I : 47 37 10 37.8 Cornbelt II : 32 27 5 37.3 : Delta : 31 27 4 46.6 : Northern Plains : 41 36 5 43.1 : Southern Plains : 58 47 11 39.7 : Mountain I : 20 16 4 46.8 Mountain II : 19 14 5 *40.1 Mountain III : 19 15 4 42.5 : Pacific : 64 46 18 39.1 CA : 194 147 47 42.7 : HI : 7 6 1 35.2 : US 3/ : 803 618 185 40.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers By Region and United States, April 12-18, 1998 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 : *8.01 6.09 *7.29 *7.55 Northeast II : *7.05 6.29 *6.88 *7.44 : Appalachian I : 6.51 6.96 6.65 *7.02 Appalachian II : 6.47 6.09 6.35 6.53 : Southeast : 6.20 6.26 6.21 6.48 FL : 6.75 7.20 6.78 7.57 : Lake : 7.39 7.43 7.41 8.06 : Cornbelt I : 7.39 8.13 7.62 8.14 Cornbelt II : 7.49 7.23 7.37 7.64 : Delta : 5.87 6.74 6.04 6.30 : Northern Plains : 7.55 6.62 7.15 *7.63 : Southern Plains : 6.20 6.29 6.25 6.72 : Mountain I : 6.51 5.92 6.21 6.46 Mountain II : 6.80 *7.14 *6.97 *7.43 Mountain III : 6.32 6.52 6.36 7.02 : Pacific : 7.00 8.49 7.21 7.89 CA : 7.30 8.08 7.39 7.87 : HI 4/ : 9.06 8.95 10.43 : US 3/ : 7.00 6.99 7.00 *7.49 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. 4/ Insufficient data for livestock. Hired Workers: Number and Hours Worked by Region and United States, July 6-12, 1997 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 : 49 35 14 37.2 Northeast II : 48 33 15 46.0 : Appalachian I : 67 26 41 38.3 Appalachian II : 39 16 23 30.7 : Southeast : 48 33 15 37.2 FL : 40 36 4 41.5 : Lake : 70 43 27 35.1 : Cornbelt I : 65 36 29 33.2 Cornbelt II : 37 29 8 33.5 : Delta : 50 36 14 41.9 : Northern Plains : 51 35 16 43.0 : Southern Plains : 82 54 28 44.3 : Mountain I : 26 17 9 41.7 Mountain II : 30 21 9 49.5 Mountain III : 25 17 8 41.2 : Pacific : 108 52 56 39.9 CA : 227 164 63 46.4 : HI : 7 6 1 37.6 : US 3/ : 1,069 689 380 40.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 3/ Excludes AK. Hired Workers: Wage Rates for Type of Worker and All Hired Workers By Region and United States, July 6-12, 1997 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 : 6.99 6.41 6.81 7.15 Northeast II : 6.29 5.71 6.10 6.56 : Appalachian I : 5.62 6.67 5.77 *5.86 Appalachian II : 5.65 5.45 5.60 5.80 : Southeast : 5.92 6.08 5.95 6.46 FL : 6.71 6.60 6.69 7.60 : Lake : 6.56 6.10 6.35 6.72 : Cornbelt I : 6.70 7.84 6.95 7.63 Cornbelt II : 6.93 6.65 6.82 7.17 : Delta : 5.67 6.42 5.86 6.23 : Northern Plains : 6.95 6.99 6.96 7.39 : Southern Plains : 5.60 6.17 5.83 6.32 : Mountain I : 5.89 6.39 6.00 6.19 Mountain II : 5.88 *6.67 6.00 *6.32 Mountain III : 6.30 6.21 6.29 6.99 : Pacific : 6.83 8.54 6.93 7.33 CA : 6.74 7.43 6.79 7.18 : HI 4/ : 9.11 9.10 10.34 : US 3/ : 6.44 6.54 6.46 6.88 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 1/ Excludes Agricultural Service Workers. 2/ Region map on page 13. 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, 1997 : July 12-18, 1998 :--------------------------------------------------------------- Region 2/ : Field : Other :L'stk &: All : Field : Other :L'stk &: All : Crops : Crops :Poultry: Farms : Crops : Crops :Poultry: Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : Northeast : 7.54 6.42 5.98 6.29 6.90 7.19 6.16 6.82 Appalachian : 5.51 6.27 6.40 5.88 5.85 6.26 7.54 6.54 Southeast : 5.57 6.72 6.10 6.36 5.85 6.51 6.54 6.54 Lake : 6.84 7.02 6.10 6.35 6.85 7.09 6.50 6.77 Cornbelt : 7.02 3/ 7.10 7.08 7.39 7.78 7.04 7.33 Delta : 5.61 5.47 6.42 5.86 5.73 3/ 6.44 6.36 Northern Plains : 6.93 3/ 3/ 6.96 7.03 8.15 3/ 6.69 Southern Plains : 5.18 5.79 6.17 5.83 3/ 5.71 6.05 5.98 Mountain : 6.23 6.04 6.34 6.19 5.73 6.41 6.58 6.43 Pacific : 7.48 7.27 8.14 7.39 7.88 7.59 8.82 7.66 48 States : 6.10 6.63 6.45 6.47 6.46 6.89 6.82 6.80 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All Hired Workers: Wage Rates, by Economic Class of Farm by Region and 48 States 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 6-12, 1997 : July 12-18, 1998 Region :----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2/ : Gross Value Sales-$1000's : : Gross Value Sales-$1000's : :----------------------------: All :----------------------------: All : <40 :40-99 :100-249 :250+ :Farms : <40 :40-99 :100-249 : 250+ :Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dollars per Hour : N. East : 6.09 5.57 6.61 7.73 6.83 6.50 3/ 6.65 7.76 7.40 Appal. : 5.26 7.07 5.63 5.99 5.85 3/ 6.25 6.17 6.72 6.67 S. East : 6.54 5.89 6.58 3/ 7.01 6.68 7.17 6.52 7.33 7.17 Lake : 5.78 3/ 5.85 6.63 6.72 5.38 6.63 6.48 7.51 7.01 Cornbelt: 7.01 3/ 7.15 7.57 7.46 7.48 6.79 6.63 8.10 7.73 Delta : 6.10 6.17 5.63 6.53 6.23 5.76 5.79 6.54 7.06 6.75 N. Plain: 6.66 3/ 6.10 7.61 7.48 5.76 6.73 7.15 7.39 7.08 S. Plain: 5.40 6.31 6.22 6.67 6.32 3/ 5.93 5.91 6.46 6.32 Mountain: 6.35 6.79 6.11 6.60 6.49 5.75 6.32 6.57 6.76 6.60 Pacific : 7.02 6.67 6.91 7.32 7.27 7.20 6.77 7.63 7.66 7.61 48 State: 6.06 6.42 6.26 7.21 6.90 6.74 6.62 6.72 7.44 7.24 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 12-18, : July 12-18, Farm : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Field and Livestock Workers : Field Crops : 23 14 17 Other Crops : 50 55 55 Livestock, Dairy, : & Poultry : 27 31 28 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Economic Class of Farm, 48 States 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gross Value : July 6-12, : April 12-18, : July 12-18, of Sales : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers : Less than $40,000 : 13 9 9 $40,000-$99,999 : 12 7 10 $100,000-$249,999 : 15 14 16 $250,000 and over : 60 70 65 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hired Workers: Distribution by Category, United States, 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : July 6-12, : April 12-18, : July 12-18, : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent of Hired Workers Employed on Farms Hiring : 1 Worker : 10 14 9 2 Workers : 10 8 9 3-6 Workers : 22 20 21 7-10 Workers : 11 8 10 At least 11 Workers : 47 50 51 : 100.0 100.0 100.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 379,000 workers for the Nation's farms and ranches during the week of July 12-18, 1998. Service workers in California numbered 110,000 this July compared with 96,000 last year. Florida's number of service workers was 5,000, compared to 4,000 last year. The average wage received by agricultural service workers in California and Florida were $7.19 and $8.60 per hour, respectively. Comparable wages in July 1997 were $6.87 in California and $8.10 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:------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Jul : Apr : Jul : Jul : Apr : Jul : Jul : Apr : Jul : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 : 1997 : 1998 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------- 1,000 ------- ------- Hours ------ Dollars per Hour : CA : 96.0 76.0 110.0 37.2 35.7 38.3 6.87 7.89 7.19 FL : 4.0 13.0 5.0 39.5 40.0 32.0 8.10 8.40 8.60 : US : 340.0 202.0 379.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 some workers but the values are not included in the wage rates. Migrant Workers: Percent of all Hired Workers, United States, By Quarter (Includes Agricultural Service Workers), 1995-98 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year : Jan : Apr : Jul : Oct -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent : 1995 2/ : NA NA 12.4 11.6 1996 : 5.7 7.5 13.1 11.1 1997 : 9.5 6.3 10.8 11.2 1998 : 7.3 6.6 13.7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Definition "Migrant Worker" is a farm worker whose employment required travel that prevented the farm worker from returning to his/her permanent place of residence the same day. 2/ Data first collected during July 1995 survey. 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. 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 12-18, 1998. Reliability: Two types of errors, sampling and nonsampling, are possible in an estimate based on a sample survey. Both types affect the "precision" 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 was 3.3 percent. The relative sampling error for the number of hired workers generally ranged between 9 and 20 percent at the regional level. The U.S. all hired farm worker wage rate had a relative sampling error of 0.8 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 ranged between 2 and 14 percent at the regional level. Nonsampling 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 nonsampling 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 1997 and April 1998 were subject to revision with this report. Revisions were made and previous data are reprinted in this report for your information. 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 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 April 1998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 July 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Wage Rates by Region and U.S. July 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 April 1998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 July 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Agricultural Services: Workers, Average Hours Worked, and Wages July 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 April 1998. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 July 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Other Labor Estimates U.S. Distribution of Workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Wage Rates by Type of Farm, by Region, State, 48 States . . 10 Wage Rates by Economic Class of Farm, by Region, State, 48 States10 Migrant Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Farm Labor Region Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Reliability of Farm Labor Estimates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Revision Policy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The next "Farm Labor" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on November 20, 1998. 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