Agriculture Counts! by King Whetstone, Regional Director, USDA-NASS, Northeastern Regional Field Office
Editor’s Note: This is a monthly column from the Northeastern Regional Field Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS-NERFO). The website is www.nass.usda.gov; for the reports mentioned below, click on the “Publications” tab.
2022 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE NOW UNDERWAY
In November, an invitation was mailed to all known agriculture producers across the 50 states to respond online to the 2022 Census of Agriculture at agcounts.usda.gov. The ag census is the nation’s only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county, and territory. By completing the survey, producers across the nation can tell their story and help generate impactful opportunities that better serve them and future generations of producers.
The 2022 Census of Agriculture was mailed in phases, with paper questionnaires following in December. Producers need only respond once, whether securely online or by mail. The online option offers timesaving features ideal for busy producers. Any producer who did not respond online now has the option to complete the ag census at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.
Producers who have already responded to the 2022 Census of Agriculture online do not need to respond again. The deadline for response is February 6, 2023. Farm operations of all sizes, urban and rural, which produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products in 2022, are included in the ag census.
Conducted every five years, the Census of Agriculture helps provide a complete picture of American agriculture. It highlights land use and ownership, producer characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures, among other topics.
For 2022, new questions about the use of precision agriculture, hemp production, hair sheep and updates to internet access questions are included. Responding to the Census of Agriculture is required by law under Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105- 113.
The same law requires us to keep all information confidential, to use the data only for statistical purposes, and only publish in aggregate form to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation. The results of the ag census will be published in early 2024.
To learn more about the Census of Agriculture, visit www.nass.usda.gov/agcensus. On the website, producers and other data users can access frequently asked questions, past ag census data, special study information, and more. For highlights of these and the latest information, follow USDA NASS on twitter @usda_nass.
U.S. AND NORTHEAST REGION FARM LABOR
There were 785,000 workers hired directly by farm operators on the Nation’s farms and ranches during the week of October 9-15, 2022, up 2% from the October 2021 reference week. Workers hired directly by farm operators numbered 797,000 during the week of July 10-16, 2022, unchanged from the July 2021 reference week.
Farm operators paid their hired workers an average gross wage of $17.72 per hour during the October 2022 reference week, up 7% from the October 2021 reference week.
Field workers received an average of $17.04 per hour, up 6%. Livestock workers earned $16.52 per hour, up 7%. The field and livestock worker combined gross wage rate, at $16.90 per hour, was up 6% from the 2021 reference week.
Hired laborers worked an average of 41.8 hours during the October 2022 reference week, down slightly from the hours worked during the October 2021 reference week.
Farm operators paid their hired workers an average gross wage of $17.63 per hour during the July 2022 reference week, up 6% from the July 2021 reference week. Field workers received an average of $16.80 per hour, up 4%, while livestock workers earned $16.65 per hour, up 10% from a year earlier.
The field and livestock worker combined gross wage rate, at $16.76 per hour, was up 6% from the July 2021 reference week. Hired laborers worked an average of 41.1 hours during the July 2022 reference week, up slightly from the hours worked during the July 2021 reference week.
Northeast Region I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont) – There were 41,000 workers hired directly by farms during the week of October 9-15, 2022.
All hired workers worked an average of 40.9 hours during the survey week. The average wage rate for all hired workers was $17.87 per hour. Field workers earned an average of $17.15 per hour and livestock workers averaged $16.38 per hour. Field and livestock workers combined earned an average of $16.92 per hour.
There were 41,000 workers hired directly by farms during the week of July 10-16, 2022. All hired workers worked an average of 39.4 hours during the survey week. The average wage rate for all hired workers was $17.67 per hour. Field workers earned an average of $17.08 per hour and livestock workers averaged $16.17 per hour. Field and livestock workers combined earned an average of $16.80 per hour.
To Growers: I would like to thank you for your contribution to U.S. agriculture and support of our programs. I hope you will continue to support NASS by returning your survey form as soon as possible or answering our questions over the telephone or if someone comes to visit.
Be assured, as with all NASS surveys, the information respondents provide is confidential by law. NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state- and national-level data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified. All reports are available on the NASS website at
See you in the New Year!