Wagner-Peyser Act

According to the latest National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) -- Kansas field office Agricultural Exports report (April 29, 2015), Kansas again ranked seventh among the 50 states as an exporter of agricultural products during fiscal year 2014. Wheat was the leading export, accounting for 29 percent of the State total and 12.2 percent of the National All Wheat exports. Kansas ranked first in the Nation for Sorghum exports with 46 percent of the National Sorghum export. Kansas ranked second in the Nation for Wheat exports, ninth for Corn and Grain Products, and other top ten rankings include Potatoes, Hay, and Beans.

The 2015 State Agricultural Overview (dated 8/18/16) lists the top five Kansas crops, based on harvested acres, as wheat, corn for grain, soybeans, sorghum for grain, and hay & haylage.

• Wheat production for 2015 was 322 million bushels, up from 246.4 million bushels in 2014. Yield in 2015 was 37 bushels per acre, up 9.0 bushels from the previous year’s crop. Acres harvested for grain totaled 8.7 million, down 1 percent from 2014. A total of 9.2 million acres were planted to wheat in the fall of 2014 for harvest in 2015, down 4 percent from 2014.
• Corn for grain production was 580 million bushels with a Yield of 148 bushels per acre, down 1.0 bushel from the previous year’s crop. Acres harvested totaled 3.9M, up 3% from 2014.
• Soybean production totaled 148.6 million bushels, up 6.1 million bushels from 2014, with a yield of 38.5 bushels per acre, up 2.5 bushels from 2014 yield. Area for harvest is at 3.9 million acres, down 2% from 2014.
• Sorghum for grain production is at 281.6 million bushels, up 41% from 2014, with a yield of 88 bushels per acre, up 14 bushels from 2014. Area harvested was 3.2 million acres, up 500,000 acres from 2014.
• Hay & Haylage production is at 6.3 million tons, up 1.3 million tons from 2014, with a yield of 2.48 tons per acre, up 1.48 tons. Area harvested was 2.5 million acres, up 200,000 acres from 2014.

Projected level of agricultural activity for the coming year

According to the NASS Prospective Planting & Stocks report dated March 31, 2016 planting of the major crops was forecast as follows:

• Wheat, 8.5 million acres, -1% from 2015
• Corn, 4.8 million acres, +16% from 2015
• Sorghum, 3.15 million acres, -7% from 2015
• Soybean, 3.85 million acres, -1% from 2015
• All Hay, 2.4 million acres, -2% from 2015
• Oats, 120,000 acres, +26% from 2015
• Cotton, 22,000 acres, +38% from 2015
• Canola, 40,000 acres. New crop in 2016; first year for acreage and production in Kansas.

Geographic area of activity

According to USDA State Fact Sheets, July 20, 2016, in 2015 60,400 farms operated in Kansas, 600 less than in 2014. The amount of farmland in Kansas remains constant at 46 million acres, which is 88% of the state. The average farm size increased from 754 acres in 2014 to 762 (USDA 2015 State Agriculture Overview), which is above the national average of 434 acres.

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Kansas’ geographic area of cropland is primarily in local workforce development areas one and two. The area of prime activity for H-2A certifications also occurs in local areas one and two.

In PY14 108 requests for H-2A certifications were submitted. Breaking that down to local workforce development area, the statistics are as follows:

• Local Area 1 - 89 H-2A certification requests
• Local Area 2 - 14 H-2A certification requests
• Local Area 3 - 0 H-2A certification requests
• Local Area 4 - 1 H-2A certification request
• Local Area 5 - 4 H-2A certification requests

2) Summarize the agricultural employers’ needs in the State (i.e. are they predominantly hiring local or foreign workers, are they expressing that there is a scarcity in the agricultural workforce); and

A review of the MSFW activity in the State.

The KANSASWORKS Annual Report for PY2014 officially estimates 4,900 MSFWs worked in the State of Kansas throughout Calendar Year (CY) 2014. This estimate is supplied by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Statewide Farmworker Health Program. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Kansas Statewide Farmworker Health Program (KSFHP) reported it actually served 4,817 farmworkers during CY14, a number that includes workers’ registered family members.

The following table provides historical data of individuals in KANSASWORKS.com that identified as a migrant seasonal farmworker.

TABLE SUMMARY: In PY13 65 MSFWs were registered in KANSASWORKS.com; an increase of 20 from PY12. In PY14 86 MSFWs were registered in KANSASWORKS.com; an increase of 21 from PY13. In PY15 72 MSFWs were registered in KANSASWORKS.com; a decrease of 14 from PY14.

Kansas Department of Commerce performs H2A labor certification including housing inspections. The following table provides historical labor certification data.

TABLE SUMMARY: In PY13:104 H2A employer applications were certified, down 18% from previous year; 149 housing units were inspected; down 12%; 728 agricultural workers were requested, down 3%; and 674 workers were approved, up 0.4%. In PY14:118 H2A employer applications were certified, up 13% from previous year; 166 housing units were inspected; up 7%; 776 agricultural workers were requested, up 7%; and 708 workers were approved, up 5%. In PY15:120 H2A employer applications were certified, up 2% from previous year; 170 housing units were inspected; up 2%; 829 agricultural workers were requested, up 7%; and 798 workers were approved, up 13%.

The Migrant Indicators of Compliance Report is summarized in the below and demonstrates the percent of applicants that received services for MSFWs compared to Non-MSFW.

TABLE SUMMARY: In PY14 the KANSASWORKS.com Migrant Indicators of Compliance Report indicated 61 (or 100%) of migrant seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) applied for services; and 185,651 (or 100%) of non-MSFWs applied. Of the 61 MSFWs who applied 8 (or 13%) were referred to employment, 24 (or 39%) received staff-assisted services, three (or 5%) were referred to support services, 0 (or 0%) received career guidance, and 0 (or 0%) received job development contact. Of the 185,651 non-MSFWs who applied 14,043 (or 8%) were referred to employment, 47,573 (or 26%) received staff-assisted services, 2,341 (or 1%) were referred to support services, 4,412 (or 2%) received career guidance, and 60 (or 0.03%) received job development contact. Comparing services rendered to MSFW and non-MSFW, the percent served in career guidance and job development contact are within a 2% variance. MSFW referral to employment was 13% compared to non-MSFWs at 8%. Receipt of staff-assisted services was 39% for MSFWs compared to 26% for non-MSFWs and referral to support service was 5% for MSFW and 1% for non-MSFWs.

TABLE SUMMARY: In PY15 the KANSASWORKS.com Migrant Indicators of Compliance Report indicated 72 (or 100%) of migrant seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) applied for services; and 110,483 (or 100%) of non-MSFWs applied. Of the 72 MSFWs who applied 9 (or 13%) were referred to employment, 22 (or 31%) received staff-assisted services, two (or 3%) were referred to support services, 2 (or 3%) received career guidance, and 0 (or 0%) received job development contact. Of the 110,483 non-MSFWs who applied 12,498 (or 11%) were referred to employment, 40,806 (or 37%) received staff-assisted services, 2,185 (or 2%) were referred to support services, 5,482 (or 5%) received career guidance, and 81 (or 0.07%) received job development contact. Comparing services rendered to MSFW and non-MSFW, the percent served in each category is within a 2% difference in all categories other than receipt of staff-assisted services, which was 31% MSFW and 37% non-MSFW.

To assure statewide compliance Commerce will make every effort to meet four out of five Equity Indicators of Compliance, as well as meet four out of seven Minimum Service Level Indicators by providing support as described in Section 3 - Services provided to farmworkers and agricultural employers.

Minimum service level indicators are established to ensure that MSFWs receive the required employment services. Pursuant to 20 CFR 653.112(c), only the 20 most MSFW significant States are required to meet compliance levels. Significant States are required to meet at least four out of the seven minimum service level indicators each quarter. Kansas is not a significant state.

The minimum service level indicators are:

1. Job placement - the percentage of registered MSFWs that were placed in a job.

1. Job placement paying $.50 above minimum wage - the percentage of registered MSFWs that were placed in a job paying $.50 above minimum wage.
2. Job placement in long-term non-agricultural job - the percentage of registered MSFWs that were placed in a non-agricultural job with duration more than 150 days.
3. Review of significant local offices - Kansas is not a significant state and does not have dedicated MSFW outreach personnel making this goal unattainable.
4. Field checks - perform field checks of at least 25% of the clearance orders in which "domestic" worker placements are made (20 CFR 653.503).
5. Outreach contacts - a minimum of five contacts per staff day should be performed by outreach workers. Kansas is not a significant state and does not have dedicated MSFW outreach personnel making this goal unattainable; however, specific outreach will occur as directed by the KANSASWORKS functional manager.
6. Timely processing of complaints - minimal compliance levels must reflect timeliness as prescribed by 20 CFR 658.400. Actual levels are cumulative of unresolved complaints at the end of each reporting period.

The KANSASWORKS centers must consider and be sensitive to the preferences, needs, and skills of individual MSFWs and the availability of job and training opportunities for them.

Projected number of MSFWs in the State for the coming year

Statistics identifying projected number of MSFWs was requested, but not received, from SER Corporation who operated the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP). The NFJP is authorized under section 167 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014, and is a required partner of the local workforce delivery system.

Based on the projected level of agricultural activity and review of MSFW activity in the state, Kansas projects

a 2-4% increase in numbers served in the next year.

3) Identifying any economic, natural, or other factors that are affecting agriculture in the State or any projected factors that will affect agriculture in the State.

According to the K-State Kansas Climate Summary (dated June 2016), June made a quick turn-around with both temperature and precipitation in most of the state. Only the Southwest Division averaged above normal precipitation for the month. The June average precipitation in Southwest KS was 5.14 inches or 158 percent of normal. In contrast, the Northeast division averaged just 0.98 inches or 19 percent of normal. The statewide average was 2.53 inches or 65 percent of normal. That places this June as the 23rd driest since 1896. The driest June on record occurred in 1911, when the statewide average total was just 0.68 inches. Despite the overall dry pattern, there were 32 new record daily rainfall totals. Of those, Cimarron’s daily record 4.89 inches set on June 13th set a new monthly record as well. The greatest 24 hour total for a NWS station was 5.80 inches at Bentley 2E, Sedgwick County, on the 16th. The greatest 24 hour total for a CoCoRaHS station was 6.13 inches at Halstead 0.4 S, Harvey County, also on the 16th. Highest monthly totals: 9.79 inches at Winfield, Cowley County (NWS); 7.52 inches at Wichita 6.9 NW, Sedgwick County (CoCoRaHS).

On the temperature side, this was the 10th warmest since 1896. The statewide average temperature was 77.5 oF. Not surprisingly, the Southwest Division was closest to normal for the month. The average was 76.7 oF, or 2.9 degrees warmer than normal. The warmest division was the East Central where average temperature was 78.4 oF or 4.9 degrees warmer than normal. There were 61 new daily record high temperatures set. In addition there were 31 new record warm minimum temperatures. Of those, 4 set new record warm minimum temperatures for the month of June. Toronto Lake set a new record of 78 oF on the 18th, then tied it again on the 23rd. The highest temperature recorded for the month was 106 oF, set at both Abilene, Dickinson County, and Salina, Saline County, on the 15th. The coldest temperature recorded for the month was 42 oF, reported at Brewster 4W in Thomas County on the 5th.

As the rainfall pattern decreased, there were also fewer severe weather reports. There were no tornadoes reported in June. There were 51 hail reports which were much fewer than the 223 reported in May. The most common severe weather report was damaging winds. There were 86 damaging wind reports in the month.

The dry month resulted in a return of abnormally dry conditions across much of the eastern third of the state. The last Drought Monitor issued in June had just over 20 percent of the state as abnormally dry. The precipitation outlook for June is for wetter than average conditions didn’t materialize. The July outlook is neutral on precipitation, with chances equally likely for above or below normal precipitation. Statewide, the outlook is for warmer than normal temperatures.

Compared to the 27-year average at this time for Kansas, this year’s Vegetation Condition Report for June 21 - June 27, 2016 from K-State’s Precision Agriculture Laboratory shows lower vegetative activity continues in the Northeastern areas of the state, where wet weather was quickly replaced by hot, dry conditions. Increased photosynthetic activity is most visible in the Southwest Divisions. Continued rains, and closer to normal temperatures have favored vegetative activity in this area.

The numbers of farms have decreased, but the size of farms has increased and total net farm income continues to rise. There are no known economic, natural or other factors that will impact agriculture production in the State.

Significant Status Note: Per 20 CFR 651.10 USDOL must designate states with significant MSFW activities. “Significant MSFW States shall be those States designated annually by ETA and shall include the twenty (20) States with the highest number of MSFW applicants.” Significant states are required to perform vigorous outreach with extensive follow-up and have dedicated MSFW outreach staff. Kansas does not have a significant MSFW state designation; however, agricultural employees and employers are provided the full array of resources and services available through the state workforce system. Farmworkers may view and apply for job postings, file a complaint, or receive referrals to social services, unemployment and/or training assistance. Agricultural employers receive the full array of employer resources and services including job postings and labor exchange information and services. Additional services include housing inspections conducted by local workforce center staff.