Hired Farm Labor Use on Fruit, Vegetable, and Horticultural Specialty Farms

Fruit, vegetable, and horticultural specialty (FVH) farms are the largest users of hired and contract labor on a per-farm basis. Because of the unique nature of FVH production, the use of labor on FVH farms differs markedly from that on other types of farms. FVH production requires a large number of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Oliveira, Victor J, Effland, Anne B.W, Runyan, Jack L, Hamm, Shannon
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.12.1993
Edition1473
SeriesAgricultural Economic Report No. 676
Subjects
Agricultural and Food Policy
contract labor
foreign competition
Hired labor
immigration reform
Labor and Human Capital
mechanization
Production Economics
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Summary:Fruit, vegetable, and horticultural specialty (FVH) farms are the largest users of hired and contract labor on a per-farm basis. Because of the unique nature of FVH production, the use of labor on FVH farms differs markedly from that on other types of farms. FVH production requires a large number of workers for short, intermittent periods during critical planting and harvest seasons. Migrant farmworkers and undocumented foreign workers are most often associated with seasonal hand-harvest jobs in the FVH sector. The use of contract labor is prevalent on fruit and vegetable farms as well. Factors such as future production and consumer demand trends, continued mechanization of FVH production, foreign competition and international trade, immigration reform, and changes in Federal laws, regulations, and programs affecting farm labor could have important implications on the adequacy of farm labor supply on FVH farms.
DOI:10.22004/ag.econ.305549