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:
1) The main agricultural crops in Arkansas are rice, cotton, soybeans, corn and sweet potatoes, with an estimated projected harvest of over six million acres that will be harvested in PY ’16. The heaviest activity for these crops are in the months of June, July, August and September located primarily in the Eastern Delta Region of the state, along the Mississippi River Basin and the Southeastern quadrant of the state. These are seasonal jobs requiring over two thousand workers to cultivate, plant, till and harvest these crops. 2) Most agricultural employers usually keep one to two workers on their payroll as full-time employees, but because of the lack of domestic labor willing and able to do these long and hard jobs outdoors in all kinds of weather, the majority of these seasonal workers are foreign born workers entering the country on H2-A Visas (temporary agriculture) and most of the returning workers are coming from Mexico and a few are traveling from South Africa. Free housing is included for these workers and any domestic worker that is unable to return to his/her home each day. 3) Farming is always a gamble no matter where it is in the United States. Excessive rain or heat or drought can make or break the farm owners’ bottom line.