Farmworker: Difference between revisions

A '''farmworker''' is a person hired to work in the agricultural industry. This includes work on farms of all sizes, from small, family-run businesses to large [[industrial agriculture]] operations. The farmworker may or may not be related to the individuals who own or run the farm, but his or her job entails a more formal relationship than a family member or neighbor who might do occasional chores on the farm. Depending on the location and type of farm, the work may be seasonal or permanent. Seasonal, or [[migrant worker]]s, are often low-wage workers, who may or may not be working in their country of origin. Permanent workers may have a particular set of skills or educational background that allow them to earn higher wages, and are often found on farms where there is year-round production, such as on dairy or beef cattle farms. Farmworkers usually earn a wage, however, the work can be done on a volunteer basis or for educational reasons. Many programs exist, such as World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms ([[WWOOF]]) that facilitates the placement of volunteer farmworkers on specific types of farms. Additionally, farms may offer apprenticeship or internship opportunities where labor is traded for the knowledge and experience gained from a particular type of production. Farm workers may be from the country where they are employed, or may be immigrants, as is often the case in the United States.

==Farm Workers in the United States==

===United States Farm Structure===

The development of a particular kind of [[agriculture]] is dependent on the characteristics of the farming region. The soil type, climate, slope, and distance to markets all help in shaping the type of agriculture that thrives in any particular region. For instance, the [[Midwestern United States]] has rich, fertile soil, and so it produces corn, soybeans, cattle, hogs, and dairy products and has become known as the [[Corn Belt]] of America. In contrast, agriculture in [[California]]’s Mediterranean and moderate climate produces more than half of the nation’s fruits, vegetables, and nuts, which require hand-harvesting and a large labor force.

Over the last century the amount of farmland in production has remained relatively steady, but the number of operating farms has continually dropped, signifying a consolidation of farm enterprises. Around the 1930s hard economic times hit the country with the [[Great Depression]] and the [[Dust Bowl]] era, forcing some farmers off the land. From 1950 to 2001 the amount of U.S. farm land used for major [[commodity]] crop production has remained about the same while over half of the farms are gone. As farm production has largely moved away from the family farms and towards an [[industrial agriculture]] model, there is an increased need for wage labor. A farm’s reliance on farmworkers greatly depends on the quantity and type of crop in production. Some crops require more labor than others, and in California many labor-intensive crops are produced such as [[dairy]] products, [[fruit]]s, tree [[nut]]s and [[vegetable]]s. Although the domestic farm labor force has decreased in the last century, the proportion of hired workers has grown. Increased competition among agricultural producers and consolidation have created a need for a large, inexpensive, temporary workforce that increasingly comes from abroad.