Supplemental Supporting Statement Part B for Substantive Changes July 2021

1Supporting Statement

AGRICULTURAL LABOR SURVEY

OMB No. 0535-0109

B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and any sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the number of entities (e.g., establishments, State and local government units, households, or persons) in the universe covered by the collection and in the corresponding sample are to be provided in tabular form for the universe as a whole and for each of the strata in the proposed sample. Indicate expected response rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection has been conducted previously, include the actual response rate achieved during the last collection.

The Agricultural Labor Survey makes use of two sampling frames: a list frame and an area frame. The combined sampling frame comprises all active operations on NASS’s list frame with at least $1,000 in Farm Value of Sales (FVS), as well as all non-overlapping (NOL) records with at least $1,000 in FVS from the area frame segments in the June Agricultural Survey (OMB No. 0535-0213).

The Agricultural Labor Survey is administered biannually (in April and October) in all States except Alaska and California. (The California Employment Development Division, in cooperation with NASS’s Pacific Regional Field Office, conducts a monthly survey in California) Survey data are used to derive national and regional estimates for numbers of agricultural workers and wage rates.

Response rates for the last two biannual surveys are shown in the table below.

The Agricultural Labor Survey List Sampling Frame is stratified by peak number of farm workers or potential to have farm workers.

2. Describe the procedures for the collection of information including:

• statistical methodology for stratification and sample selection,

• estimation procedure,

• degree of accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification,

• unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures

The Agricultural Labor Survey list frame is stratified by peak number of farm workers. Operations that do not have a known value for peak number of farm workers are grouped into two categories - farm labor intensive and farm labor less intensive - and stratified by FVS. The sampling rate increases as the stratum number increases (from stratum 30 to stratum 98).

The NASS area frame is stratified by land use before Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) are delineated within each land use strata. Secondary Sampling Units (segments) are delineated within each selected PSU before segments are sampled. Tracts are delineated within each selected segment during personal enumeration.

The land use strata are:

- Heavily cultivated land

- Less heavily cultivated land

- Residential or ag-urban land with potential for agricultural use

- Pasture or grazing land

- Completely nonagricultural land

The June Area Survey records that are NOL with the list sampling frame for the Labor Survey are determined in late June. Operations with less than $1,000 of FVS are not included in the Labor Area Frame population because they do not meet USDA’s definition of a farm (having at least $1,000 of FVS).

NOL tracts from the area frame are stratified by peak number of farm workers; however, the highest two strata (21 and 22, see below) are stratified by peak number of farm workers and expansion weights.

Area Labor

Stratum Description

3 0 or missing peak workers

11 1-4 peak workers

12 5-9 peak workers

13 10-49 peak workers

14 50-99 peak workers

15 100+ peak workers

21 Labor stratum 3 records with high expansion factors

22 Labor stratum 11 records with high expansion factors

Generally, all NOL records in stratum 11 and above are included in the sample. In contrast stratum 3 is sampled at less than 100 percent.

A sampling scheme is employed to control the amount of overlap between operations that are sampled for the Quarterly Labor Surveys.

The sample size was increased by approximately 2,000 records to adjust for the increased refusal and inaccessible rates due to the pandemic.

3. Describe methods to maximize response rates and to deal with issues of non-response. The accuracy and reliability of information collected must be shown to be adequate for intended uses. For collections based on sampling a special justification must be provided for any collection that will not yield "reliable" data that can be generalized to the universe studied.

Data Collection: Generally, a cover letter and sample questionnaire are mailed to the targeted sample at the beginning of each survey. The letter informs the respondents of the importance of the survey and encourages them to respond by either internet or by completing the paper questionnaire and mailing it in. Non-respondents will be contacted by either phone or personal enumeration.

Included with the cover letter, respondents are provided a link to a website along with a personalized, secure key code that will allow them to access only their questionnaire and provide their information in a secure manner. Additional responses and respondent burden were added to the burden table in Supporting Statement A, Item 12 to allow for the possible use of a pre-survey postcard to encourage internet responses, to help increase response rates and reduce data collection costs.

Telephone data collection is done primarily through a Data Collection Center using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) instrument which automatically displays forms and manages call-backs and appointments for the enumerators. Those operations expected to have a large number of workers or have multiple operations are typically assigned to enumerators for personal visits.

Estimates will be generated for number of workers, hours worked, and wage rates. The data will be summarized and published for 18 Farm Labor Regions. The regions are defined in the Farm Labor publication attached to this OMB submission.

The sample is designed to meet U.S. and regional target coefficients of variation for hired workers and wage rates by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes.

The NASS Farm Labor Survey publication will continue to include summarized data tables using the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) worker categories.

Survey data are subject to non-sampling errors such as omissions and mistakes in reporting and in processing the data. While these errors are not measured directly, they are minimized by NASS staff reviewing all reported data for consistency and reasonableness through an Interactive Data Analysis System (IDAS).

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken.

In the past there have been several qualitative and quantitative projects occurring for the Agricultural Labor Survey.

5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on statistical aspects of the design and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), or other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

Survey design and methodology are determined by the Summary, Estimation, and Disclosure Methodology Branch, Methodology Division; Branch Chief is Jeff Bailey, (202) 690-8141.

Sample sizes for each State are determined by the Sampling, Editing, and Imputation Methodology Branch, Methods Division; Branch Chief is Mark Apodaca, (202) 690-8141.

Data collection is carried out by NASS Field Offices; Eastern Field Operation’s Director is Jody McDaniel (202) 720-3638 and the Western Field Operation’s Director is Troy Joshua, (202) 720-8220.

The Census and Survey Division, Survey Administration Branch Chief is Gerald Tillman, (202)720-3895.

The NASS commodity statistician in charge of the Agricultural Labor Survey in the Environmental, Economics and Demographics Section of the Environmental, Economics, and Demographics Branch, Statistics Division is responsible for national and regional summaries, analysis, and presentation of data to the Agricultural Statistics Board for final estimates, publication, and the Estimation Manual. The Statistics Division, Environmental, Economics and Demographics Branch Chief is Tony Dorn, (202) 720-5084.

July 2021

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