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:
The main agricultural crops in Arkansas are soybeans, hay rice, corn, and cotton, with an estimated projected harvest of nearly seven million acres that were harvested in program year 2022. Most of these main agricultural crops are concentrated in Central, Eastern, and Northeastern Arkansas. While production continues year round, the heaviest months of activity are January through October.
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 more than four thousand migrant and seasonal workers to cultivate and plant, till and harvest these crops. Agricultural employers are increasingly faced with 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 the next highest percentage of workers 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.
The effects of increased rainfall, flooding, and extreme temperatures have impacted and will continue to impact Arkansas' economy and agriculture production. The tightened labor market has created job opportunities with increased pay rates and additional incentives that lure farmworkers from seasonal and temporary farm labor.
Agricultural employers are continuing to increase their utilization of the H-2A program annually in Arkansas.
There are estimated to be approximately 4,500 migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) in the state at any time, most H2-A workers enter from Mexico and Spanish is the native language spoken. There was a 17 percent increase in the number of new agricultural jobs entered into the Arkansas JobLink system in PY22 from the previous year.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture - National Agricultural Statistics Services, 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 – Calendar 2022
| CROPS | ACRES HARVESTED 2022 | PRODUCTION | DURATION OF HARVEST | GEOGRAPHIC AREA/COUNTY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soybeans | 3,180,000 | 163,280,000 BU | July 15 - November 15 | Lee, Phillips, St Francis, Cross |
| Rice | 1,084,000 | 80,340,000 CWT | August 10 - October 1 | Arkansas, Monroe, Prairie |
| Corn | 695,000 | 120,235 BU | June 25 - August 31 | Lee, Phillips, Cross |
| Cotton | 630,000 | 1,548,000 BALES | August 15 - October 21 | Mississippi, Craighead, Crittenden |
| Hay | 1,093,000 | 2,188,000 TON | November 30 - March 1 | Lonoke, Prairie, Lee, St. Francis |