ATHENS, Ga. — USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its biannual Agricultural Labor Survey in April. The survey will collect information about hired labor from more than 1,700 farmers and ranchers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. NASS will publish the data Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in the Farm Labor report available on the NASS website at www.nass.usda.gov.
In the survey, NASS asks producers to answer a variety of questions about hired farm labor on their operations, including total number of hired farm workers, total hours worked, and total wages paid for the weeks of January 8-14 and April 9-15, 2023.
“Agricultural labor data are critical in helping producers when hiring workers and estimating expenses,” said Anthony Prillaman, Director of the NASS Southern Regional Field Office. “The data that farm operators provide through NASS’s Agricultural Labor Survey also allow federal policymakers to base farm labor policies on accurate information.”
USDA and the U.S. Department of Labor use the survey data to estimate the demand for and availability of seasonal agricultural workers, establish minimum wage rates for agricultural workers, and administer farm labor recruitment and placement service programs.
“By asking about two separate time periods each time we collect these data during the year, we are able to publish biannual data and capture seasonal variation,” said Prillaman. “This approach reduces the number of times we survey farms, while ensuring that accurate and timely data are available.”
Survey recipients can respond online at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. On the on-line portal, producers can complete their surveys, access data visualizations and reports of interest, link to other USDA agencies, and more. Survey recipients who do not respond by Wednesday, April 19, 2023, may be sent a reminder email, and later contacted for a telephone or in-person interview by a NASS representative.
Participants are encouraged to view the Agricultural Labor Survey video at youtu.be/6oWSOjGTQzU for further information on and assistance completing this survey. All previous Farm Labor publications are also available on the NASS website. For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Southern Regional Field Office at (800) 253-4419.
–USDA, NASS