Seasonal Requirements for Labor in American Agriculture

Excerpts from the report: Agriculture in the United States is a highly seasonal occupation and the requirements for labor on farms vary greatly according to the farming operations performed during each period of the year. This seasonal variation in the amount of labor required is significant on the majority of farms even though agriculture has a large labor force directly attached to it which is for the most part resident on the farm and available throughout the year. Seasonal increases in the amount of labor needed are met by a more intensive application of effort by the family and hired labor already on farms and by the employment of additional hired labor. Types of farming, described according to the principal crops grown or livestock products produced, have been regionalized and mapped by the Department of Agriculture. For nine of the major regions a calendar of operations has been prepared and is given in Figure 1. The United States total of seasonal labor needs is shown in the first chart of Figure 2. Also given in Figure 2, as an illustration of the differences between regions, are the patterns for the corn, cotton, and small grain regions. The accompanying map, "Periods of Peak Seasonal Labor Requirements in Agriculture in the United States," presents a generalized description of seasonal labor needs, regionalized according to type-of-farming areas.

本报告节选内容如下：美国农业属于高度季节性的生产业态，农场劳动力需求会随年度各阶段开展的农事作业产生显著波动。尽管农业直接从业劳动力规模庞大，其中多数长期定居农场、全年均可到岗，但绝大多数农场的劳动力需求量仍存在显著的季节性波动。针对季节性增长的劳动力需求，农场可通过现有家庭成员与雇工加大劳作强度，以及雇佣额外雇工的方式予以满足。美国农业部（Department of Agriculture）已依据主要种植作物或畜牧产品类型对农业生产类型进行区域划分，并绘制了对应的分布图。针对其中9个核心农业区域，已编制完成农事作业日历，并刊载于图1。美国全国季节性劳动力需求总量展示于图2的首张图表中。此外，图2还刊载了玉米、棉花与小杂粮主产区的劳动力需求模式，用以展现不同区域间的需求差异。随附的《美国农业季节性劳动力需求峰值时段》（Periods of Peak Seasonal Labor Requirements in Agriculture in the United States）地图，对按农业生产类型区域划分的全国季节性劳动力需求情况进行了概括性描述。