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. 2. 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:
Critical to Michigan’s economy in terms of production, processing, and the revenue it generates, the agriculture industry in Michigan continues to produce over 300 commodities on a commercial basis and remains second only to California in its diversity of crops. The latest data available from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 2018 State Agriculture Overview cites Michigan as having 47,000 farms, and approximately 10 million acres of farmland. Michigan leads the nation in the production of pine (Christmas) trees, floriculture, hops, and 18 crops, including apples, blueberries, tart cherries, asparagus, and cucumbers. The NASS Michigan Rotational Survey for 2018, estimates that there were 17,330 seasonal and 11,465 migrant farm workers in Michigan; however, the actual number of migrant and seasonal farm workers employed in Michigan may likely be higher, because the survey data is based on agricultural employer reported information.
Farm labor is generally utilized in the agricultural regions that border Lake Michigan. These are the areas where labor-intensive crops are grown. Table 2 provides estimates of Michigan’s top five commodities harvested, which are identified as labor-intensive crop activities. The table also identifies the months of the heaviest activity, geographical area of prime activity, and data indicating the number of migrant and seasonal farm workers that are employed in each crop. Labor needs remained the same, although the use of H-2A Visa workers has increased.
Data for Table 2 was gathered from historical agricultural data through multiple sources including MDARD.
Several regions in Michigan continue to experience farm labor shortages and a spike in H-2A activity. The lack of MSFW labor in the top five commodities (apples, asparagus, blueberries, cherries, and vegetables) is attributed to longer growing seasons, increases in fruit and vegetable yield, and MSFW families that are reluctant to remove children from school early and arrive late to their home - base state school. In addition, other factors contributing to the labor shortages include a low unemployment rate, and the increasing age of the MSFW workforce. These assertions are a result of the MSFW contacts made during outreach, and information obtained from employers, and MSFW service agencies.
Employers are choosing to use the E-verify system to verify employment eligibility of workers, and therefore it is impacting the recruitment of migrant workers who may otherwise not be eligible. A report released in 2017 by the American Immigration Council found that 1.3 percent of the total Michigan population in 2014 were undocumented immigrants. An article published in the Detroit Free Press on July 28, 2019, reported that Michigan had the 2nd highest rate of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of immigrants over a 20-month period that spanned from October 1, 2016 through May 2018. The national immigration policy coupled with the fear and uncertainty among workers has created the perfect storm for the decrease in migrant workers and families coming to work in Michigan, and an increase in the demand for foreign labor. Subsequently, on October 30, 2019, a Press Release announced that bipartisan house members introduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Representative Zoe Lofgren, representing California’s 19th District said, “The men and women who work America’s farms feed the nation. But, farmworkers across the country are living and working with uncertainty and fear, contributing to the destabilization of farms across the nation.” She also stated, “Our bill offers stability for American farms by providing a path to legal status for farmworkers…”
The labor shortage had numerous growers supplementing their labor needs via the H-2A program. This demand for foreign labor in Michigan is reflected in Tables 3 and 4 below which demonstrate the increase from 2016 to 2018.
Data for Table 3 was obtained from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification
Data for Table 4 was obtained from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification
Some strategies used by agricultural employers to offset the labor shortages included planting fewer acres and switching to less labor intense crops incorporating mechanical aids/pickers. If no solution was attainable, growers were forced to leave crops in the fields without harvest.
In 2019, Michigan also experienced weather anomalies which created delays in planting/seeding and harvesting. It also created shortened crop growth periods, and longer periods between crop harvesting forcing some migrant workers to look for other work. An MLive News article posted June 21, 2019 by Lauren Gibbons noted that “According to Michigan Farm Bureau, as of June 9 Michigan farmers have had 3.5 days with proper conditions for fieldwork this year…”. Michigan’s Governor requested emergency assistance for agricultural growers across the state as it was identified that there would be a need for relief due to the near billions of dollars in loss of crops that could not be grown or harvested.