Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
- e. Agricultural Outreach Plan (aop). Each State Agency Must Develop an Aop Every Four Years as Part of the Unified or Combined State Plan Required Under Sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. the Aop Must Include--
- 1. Assessment of NeedProvide an assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
- 1. Assessment of Need
- e. Agricultural Outreach Plan (aop). Each State Agency Must Develop an Aop Every Four Years as Part of the Unified or Combined State Plan Required Under Sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. the Aop Must Include--
e. 1. A. An Assessment of the Agricultural Activity in the State Means: 1) Identifying the Top Five Labor-intensive Crops, the Months of Heavy Activity, and the Geographic Area of Prime Activity; 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 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.
Current Narrative:
Idaho is a large, geographically diverse state, with five significant offices serving migrant and seasonal farmworkers and five additional offices that conduct farmworker outreach. The hiring season begins in April and continually increases until the peak month of October. The geographic area of prime activity is the Snake River area plain, in the southern part of the state.
Agricultural employers primarily hire foreign workers for the use of hand labor. They are heavily dependent on the use of foreign labor to ensure that crops are planted and harvested in a timely manner.
In Northern Idaho, the predominant crops are hay, grain, hops, peas, lentils, garbanzos and grass seed. The earliest activity involves hops, stringing from April to May and training from May through June. The harvest season for hay begins in May and lasts through September. Harvest for the other groups lasts from August through Mid-September. The estimated number of farmworkers in Northern Idaho was almost 2,500 farmworkers in 2016 and 2017. The North Eastern region of Idaho had approximately 3,100 in those years.
In Southeastern and Eastern Idaho, the predominant crops are hay, grain, potatoes, and sugar beets. The hiring season begins in April for irrigation activities. The harvest for potatoes and sugar beets last later into the fall, October and November respectively. In addition to farmworkers, there is a requirement for truck drivers and equipment operators from May to November. In 2016 and 2017, Southeastern Idaho had about 9,000 farmworkers and Eastern Idaho had approximately 7,000.
Southwestern Idaho has a larger variety of significant crop activity: hay, beans, corn, cherries, apples and other fruits, grain, mint, onions, potatoes, and sugar beets. Workers are needed for irrigation, hoeing, topping, and harvest in the months of heavy activity. Apples and other fruits require pruning and thinning from January to March. The number of farmworkers in Southwestern Idaho was 14,233 in 2016 and 14,105 in 2017.
The traditional South Central Idaho crops are hay, beans, apples and other fruits, grain, potatoes, and sugar beets. There is also a demand for farm equipment operators and truck drivers. A staffing agency provides greenhouse and nursery workers for seedling and plant cultivation. South Central Idaho also needs additional foreign workers for herding sheep. South Central Idaho had 15,552 farmworkers in 2016 and 15,583 in 2017.
The South Central Idaho area also supports a growing agglomeration of food production companies. According to Current Employment Statistics, the state has added almost 2,000 jobs in food manufacturing.
Obviously, extreme weather patterns also affect agriculture. An extreme amount of precipitation accumulated during the 2016-2017 winter, creating flood conditions in the spring. The winter of 2017-2018 has currently received a very low amount of precipitation. Unless this changes in the next two months, there may be a drought during the coming summer.