Comparing Farm Labor Trends in Michigan and Oregon Vera Bitsch - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Comparing Farm Labor Trends in Michigan and Oregon Vera Bitsch Dept of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Michigan State University

Top States with Labor Intensive Crops Fruits+ Flowers+ Vegetables+ $18.6 b’ll $16.6 b’ll $14.7 b’ll � CA � CA � CA � FL � FL � FL � WA � OR � AZ � OR � PA � WA � MI � TX � ID Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Payroll & Hired Workers Hired Worker State Payroll (Million Dollar) (Thousand) California 5,016 448 Florida 1,209 115 Texas 1,170 155 Washington 1,151 238 Oregon 817 106 Wisconsin 785 76 North Carolina 623 77 Michigan 607 86 Pennsylvania 591 61 New York 583 60 U.S. (total) 21,878 2,637 Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Labor Expenses 1,000,000 900,000 Labor expenses/$1,000 800,000 700,000 600,000 Contract 500,000 labor 400,000 300,000 Hired 200,000 labor 100,000 0 MI OR MI OR MI OR 1997 2002 2007 Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Contract Labor in Labor Intensive Crops, 2007 Michigan Oregon U.S. total Fruits, tree 10.8% 14.9% 36.0% nuts Vegetables, 4.9% 7.3% 28.6% melons Ornamentals 4.3% 9.0% 6.1% Compare to top fruit and vegetable producing states o Fruits, nuts: CA-42.5%, FL-66.7%, WA-4.6% o Vegetables: CA-41.1%, FL-24.4%, AZ-36.3%, WA-6.5%, ID-9.1% Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Share of Labor Expenses in Labor Intense Production 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 1997 0% Vegetables, melons Fruit, tree nuts Ornamentals Vegetables, melons Fruit, tree nuts Ornamentals 2002 2007 MI OR Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Sales per Worker Commodity Group 1997 2002 2007 MI | OR MI | OR MI | OR Vegetables, 22,202 | 27,752 | 30,743 | melons 28,578 33,125 42,244 9,909 | 9,354 | 16,609 | Fruits, tree nuts 7,127 6,201 13,214 22,540 | 33,411 | 36,624 | Ornamentals 24,110 30,284 37,487 Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Monetary Labor Productivity Commodity Group 1997 2002 2007 MI | OR MI | OR MI | OR Vegetables, 5.51| 6.77 5.49|5.82 4.65|5.31 melons Fruits, tree nuts 4.06|3.11 3.25|2.51 3.95|2.98 Ornamentals 3.83|3.28 3.86|3.07 3.66|2.73 Total 8.96|5.66 7.47|4.75 8.86|4.92 Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Short-term & Long-term Labor Workers Hired 1997 2002 2007 Employed less MI 74,869 63,821 61,788 than 150 days OR 100,936 95,506 77,936 Employed 150 MI 20,996 23,034 24,284 days or more OR 23,484 27,339 28,384 Total workers MI 95,865 86,855 86,072 hired OR 124,420 122,845 106,320 Data Source: Census of Agriculture

Comparing Wage Rates 12.00 11.00 Dollars/Hour 10.00 U.S. 9.00 Oregon 8.00 Michigan 7.00 6.00 Data Source: NASS

Oregon Minimum Wage Effect 10.5 9.5 Dollars/Hour 8.5 7.5 6.5 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Minimum wage Median wage Average wage Data Sources: Stevenson et al. & U.S. Department of Labor

Migrant & Resident Farm Workers � MI: 76.7% of 45,800 MSFW are migratory (Larson, 2006) � OR: 38.6% of 103,453 MSFW are migratory (Larson, 2002) � WA: 79% FW reside in-state; 70% don’t leave local area for work (WA State Farmworker Housing Trust)

Farm Worker Characteristics � Migrant stream by sending regions: 48% of the Midwestern stream from U.S. & Puerto Rico; 6% of the Western stream; rest mostly from Mexico; 2% from other countries � Unauthorized: 29% in Midwest; 61% in West � Newcomers: 9% in Midwest; 19% in West � Spanish main language: 54% in Midwest 92% in West Data Source: Carroll et al.

Farm Labor Housing � MI reports over 800 licensed labor camps for around 22,000 occupants (2008) � OR reports 356 labor camps with 11,916 occupants (2004) � MI: 71.5% live in employer- owned units Data Source: Holden et al. � OR: 99.2% live in private market units Data Source: Holden et al.

Labor Camp Licenses/Registration � Requirements for licenses in MI, registration in OR & inspection standards similar � $15,000 bond for labor contractors, plus put up workers ordered to vacate � MI penalty for unlicensed camp <$1,000/day , $10,000 max. � OR penalty $250 - $7,000

Farm Labor Housing Conditions Housing U.S./ Michigan/ Oregon/ Units Percent Percent Percent Crowded 51.8 61.5 40.5 Crowded 74.4 96.0 85.4 w/ children Sub- 34.6 45.6 51.8 standard Lack > 1 21.6 27.7 38.0 appliance Data Source: Holden et al.

MI Farm Labor Housing � Trio-Pac Farms � On-Farm Labor Housing � 16 Units - Seasonal � Gregory, MI Photo courtesy of Juan Cruz USDA Rural Development, MI

MI Farm Labor Housing � Shinn Farm � On-Farm Labor Housing � 1 Unit – Year Round � Croswell, MI Photo courtesy of Juan Cruz USDA Rural Development, MI

MI Farm Labor Housing � On-Farm Labor Housing � 3-Apartment Unit � Charlotte, MI Photo courtesy of Juan Cruz USDA Rural Development, MI

Conclusions � Share of contract labor in labor intensive crops low in MI & OR compared to CA and FL � Overall, share of contract labor is decreasing in MI, increasing in OR � Share of labor expenses in total expenses higher in OR for ornamental, as well as fruit production, slightly higher in MI for vegetable production

Conclusions Continued � Number of long-term workers increasing, number of short-term workers decreasing in MI & OR � Except most recently, wage rates have developed similarly in OR & MI, despite OR minimum wage indexing � In labor intensive crops, sales increases have not kept up with labor expense increases

Conclusions Continued � 76.7% migratory MSFW in MI, 38.6% in OR � More unauthorized, more newcomers, and more with Spanish main language in West than Midwest � MI labor housing more likely on-farm, twice as many licensed camps than OR, despite much smaller farm workforce � Comparing MI and OR, off-farm housing (OR) does not have fewer quality problems than on-farm housing (MI)