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:
The main agricultural crops in Arkansas are rice, cotton, soybeans, corn and sweet potatoes, with an estimated projected harvest of more than six million acres that were harvested in program year 2017. Most of these main agricultural crops are concentrated in Central, Eastern, and Northeastern Arkansas.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, most of these main agricultural crops are concentrated in the following regions: • District 60 (East Central Arkansas) — Arkansas, Cross, Crittenden, Lee, Lonoke, Monroe, Prairie, Phillips, St. Francis, and Woodruff counties. • District 30 (Northeastern Arkansas) — Clay, Craighead, Greene, Independence, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Randolph, and White counties. • District 90 (Southeast Arkansas) — Ashley, Chicot, Desha, Drew, Jefferson, and Lincoln counties. These are seasonal jobs requiring over two thousand migrant and seasonal workers to cultivate and plant, till and harvest these crops. 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 than is unable to return to his/her home each day. Although there are estimated to be fewer than 500 migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) in the state at any time, the overall majority of H2-A workers enter from Mexico and Spanish is the native language spoken. Over 295 new jobs are entered into the Arkansas JobLink system each year requesting roughly 3,000 workers for the work needed in the coming year. The top five (5) labor-intensive crops, months of heavy activity, and geographic area of prime activity are detailed in the chart below.
Agricultural Activity in Arkansas
| CROPS | ESTIMATED ACRESPY16 | ESTIMATED ACRESPY17 | DURATION OF HARVEST | GEOGRAPHICAREA/CNTY | WORKERSPY16 | WORKERSPY17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COTTON | 900 | 1,200 | August 15thruOctober 21 | Mississippi,Craighead,Crittenden | 400 | 500 |
| RICE | 1,110 | 1,375 | August 10ThruOctober 1 | Arkansas,Monroe,Prairie | 600 | 600 |
| SOYBEANS | 3,300 | 3,500 | July 15ThruNovember 15 | Lee,Phillips, St.Francis, Cross | 500 | 600 |
| WINTERWHEAT | 650 | 660 | November 30ThruMarch 1 | Lonoke,PrairieLee,St. Francis | 700 | 800 |
| CORN | 1,300 | 1,500 | June 25ThruAugust 31 | Lee,Phillips,Cross | 800 | 900 |
In 2016 and 2017, there were no natural disasters that affected agriculture in the State of Arkansas.