Agriculture

Washington State encompasses a significant share of the nation's farm sector. Although the relative size and makeup of agriculture have changed dramatically over the last century, the farm sector remains an important part of the overall economy of the nation and the state. In 1929, agricultural production’s share of U.S. gross domestic product was 9.2 percent. By 1997, this share had fallen to less than 1.3 percent. For Washington State, the farm sector's share of gross state product fell from more than 2.4 percent in 1977 to 1.6 percent in 1997.

Figure 1

Farm Sector in Washington State: Share of Real Gross State Product,
1982-1997
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

For more detail of above graphic

Agriculture remains a major industry in Washington State. In 1998, agriculture employed 91,700 people, about 21,000 less than aerospace—the state's largest manufacturing industry. In 1998, the state's farmers produced farm commodities valued at more than $5.2 billion, about 3 percent of all farm commodity sales nationwide. As much as one-third of the state's total value of agriculture production has been exported to foreign markets in the past.

Figure 2

Agricultural Employment in Washington State, 1990-1998
Source: Employment Security Department

For more detail of above graphic

A large share of the gross agricultural sales are recycled through the state's nonfarm economy as a result of farmers’ purchases of manufactured inputs, labor, and services and their tax payments to various governmental units. Moreover, the economic value added by the many firms and industries that process and distribute the raw farm commodities worldwide is a significant multiple of the farm value of raw commodities.

Estimates for 1998 show that Washington had 15.7 million acres of farmland, which accounted for 37 percent of the state’s total land area. The state's farmland is distributed among 40,000 farms. Farms vary widely in size, both within the state and the nation. In general, farms in Washington are roughly similar to the national average. The average farm in Washington encompasses 393 acres compared with 435 acres for the nation. Distribution of farms by gross sales of farm commodities is further evidence of the variation of farm size. About 17 percent of the farms in Washington State typically achieve $100,000 or more in annual sales of farm commodities. These "commercial farms," with an average of 1,515 acres, account for two-thirds of all the farmland in the state.

At the other end, 64 percent of the state's farms generate commodity sales of less than $10,000 annually. Most of these farms, which average about 100 acres in size, are part-time or hobby farms. . The most recent agricultural census (1997) indicated that an estimated 47 percent of farm operators in Washington had a principal occupation other than farming. This proportion who earn a major proportion of their living off the farm is consistent with the number of small farms where it would be unrealistic to expect to earn a livable income.

In between these ends lies a mix of commercial and part-time farms that average 373 acres in size and have annual sales of between $10,000 and $99,999. Some 19 percent of the state's farms and 18 percent of its land in farms fall within this latter category.

Importance of Agriculture to the Washington Economy

While agriculture is a mature industry, it is still growing in Washington State. Since 1990, total farm employment has increased by nearly 11,300 workers, due largely to expanded acreage and production of the labor-intensive fruit tree growers.

The value of agricultural production in Washington has increased, for the most part, since 1970 to where agriculture is now a $5.23 billion industry. The latest available data, however, show that after having reached $5.88 billion in 1995, the value of production fell 2.9 percent (-$169 million) in 1996, followed by a 3.1 percent decline (-$183 million) in 1997, and a further 5.4 percent decline (-$297 million) in 1998. Basically, the 1995 expansion (which was exceptionally large because of substantial growth for a number of the state's major farm commodities) was followed by softness in overseas markets primarily in Asia, and weak prices in a number of commodities.

Table 1

Value of Agricultural Production in Washington State, 1970-1998
(in thousands of current dollars)
Source: Washington Agricultural Statistics Service

The wide variety of crops grown in Washington is second only to California. Wide diversity in the state's farm commodity basket generally results in gains in some commodities being offset by others. In 1998, however, apples, wheat, and hay—the state's second, fifth, and sixth ranked commodities in terms of value—all posted significant losses. Since 1995, the value of the state's apple crop fell by nearly one-third (or $333 million) and in the process, relinquishing its claim to being the state's only billion dollar crop.

Washington State's agricultural output is important not only to the state's economy, but for the nation as well. In 1998, Washington ranked 9th among producing states in the sale of crops and 15th in the sale of all agricultural products. Washington is the leading producer of a cornucopia of crops including apples, pears, hops, lentils, spearmint oil, wrinkled seed peas, dry edible peas, processing carrots, processing sweet corn, red raspberries, grapes (Concord), and sweet cherries. The state also ranked high among all states in the production of other commodities including wheat (5th), barley (4th), peppermint oil (2nd), fall potatoes (2nd), apricots (2nd), prunes (3rd), asparagus (2nd), processing green peas (3nd), dry onions (3rd), and butter (4rd).

Table 2

Top Twenty Agricultural Commodities in Washington State, 1990-1998
(Based on Value of Production, Thousands of Current Dollars)
Source: Washington Agricultural Statistics Service

Washington is a major exporter of agricultural commodities. A recent study—Foreign Exports and the Washington State Economy—estimated that the value of agricultural commodities grown in Washington State and exported to foreign countries amounted to $1.04 billion in 1995. This represented about 18 percent of the total value of farm commodities grown in the state. The value of exported Washington State processed foods (e.g., frozen french fries, apple juice, powdered milk, wines) was even greater at $1.27 billion. The export of raw and processed farm products together with related trade and transportation margins combined for a total of $2.7 billion, directly creating 21,000 jobs in agriculture and food processing. An additional 3,000 workers were employed in the transportation services and trade sectors to deliver these products to foreign destinations. These raw and processed food exports, in turn bring money into the state economy and create additional jobs indirectly through a re-spending (multiplier) process. The total number of jobs—direct and indirect—created by the export of state-grown and produced farm products totaled 90,000 jobs in 1995.

Figure 3

Washington State Food and Agriculture Exports, 1993-1998
(Millions of 1998 dollars)
Source: Massachusetts Institute of Social and Economic Research

For more detail of above graphic

Employment on the Washington Farm

Agriculture is a major source of jobs in Washington State, providing employment for an annual average of 91,700 workers in 1998. Among goods-producing industries it ranked third in employment, behind aerospace and contract construction. Total employment in agriculture includes seasonal workers (i.e., those who work less than 150 days on any one farm), regular hired workers, unpaid family workers, and farm operators. Agricultural employment grew dramatically in 1998 as farmers rebounded for three years from unfavorable weather conditions that lowered total farm workers in 1995.

Of the 91,700 agricultural workers in 1998, more than four-fifths (nearly 74,000) were located east of the Cascade Mountains. Western Washington counties had just over 17,700 farm workers, which was less than one percent of all jobs in the region.

In terms of farm employment, the state's leading agricultural region is the South Central area, containing Yakima and Klickitat counties. This region accounted for more than 22,800 agricultural jobs in 1998, about one-fourth of all farm jobs in the state. Compared with western Washington, agriculture accounted for one-fifth of all jobs in the South Central area. The region grows a wide variety of high-value crops including apples, cherries, other tree fruits, grapes, asparagus, hops, and miscellaneous vegetables. The region produces a diversity of livestock and products. Dairies, in particular, are a growing agricultural sector in the South Central area. In addition, many of the nonfarm jobs in the area are dependent on agriculture. Food processing was the largest manufacturing industry and fruit and vegetable packing houses dominate the local wholesale and retail trade sector.

Table 3

Total Employment, Agricultural Employment and Percent Agricultural Employment : Washington State and Selected Agricultural Areas, 1998
Source: Employment Security Department

The North Central region—containing Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, and Okanogan counties—is the next largest agricultural employer in the state with a 1998 average of nearly 19,500 farm workers. Besides being a major producer of beef cattle, the region's largest agricultural sector is tree fruits—principally apples, cherries, and pears. The South Eastern (Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties) and Columbia Basin (Adams and Grant) regions are also highly diversified agricultural areas with tree fruits, potatoes, grapes, asparagus, hops, onions, and wheat. Adding to that diversity is the recent re-introduction of sugar beets in the Moses Lake area, which had represented a significant crop in the Columbia Basin region.

Agricultural employment in the Eastern region—composed of nine counties extending from the Canadian border to Oregon and east to Idaho—totaled just over 6,000 farm workers in 1998. Although farm workers account for only 2.3 percent of the total regional employment, the area accounts for over one-half of the state's wheat production. Wheat is the state's second largest farm commodity (in terms of value of production) and the largest agricultural export.

While a relatively small proportion of all jobs, agriculture is important in many areas of western Washington. Skagit and Whatcom counties have more farm workers than Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, and Walla Walla counties in eastern Washington. Nearly two-thirds of the state's total milk production came from dairies located in western Washington. Western Washington farmers also lead the state in the production of eggs and broilers. Sizable numbers of seasonal workers were employed in such western Washington crops as nurseries, raspberries and other berries, and miscellaneous vegetables.

Seasonal Workers and Agricultural Commodities

Several of the state’s major agricultural commodities require large numbers of seasonal workers for limited periods of time. (Seasonal farm workers are defined as those who are employed for less than 150 days on any one farm.) The availability of these workers, however, is not ensured. Seasonal jobs do not provide all the funds needed to support these workers or their families, so their job attachment is weaker than that of individuals who work in year-around jobs. Many seasonal workers live in other states or in Mexico, and while they have arrived each year in time for the critical harvest period, growers always have some doubt as to whether there will be an adequate number in the current year. Changing immigration policies add to the uncertainty, especially with the recent increases in border patrol personnel and proposals to develop an identification card that cannot be counterfeited.

Among the top twenty farm commodities in terms of value of production, eight were major employers of seasonal farm workers--apples, potatoes, nursery products, pears, sweet cherries, hops, grapes and asparagus. Other major agricultural commodity producers employed far fewer seasonal workers because they required more year-round workers (e.g., dairies and cattle-calves), or they were highly mechanized (e.g., wheat and hay).

Although some farm commodities do not require large numbers of workers directly, they indirectly create thousands of jobs in other businesses such as food processing, farm supply-equipment dealers, transportation, wholesalers, export houses, banking, insurance, veterinary and other agricultural services, and government. Wheat growers, for example, directly employed an average of less than 2,000 workers in 1997, but a study by Washington State University economists estimated that the wheat industry directly and indirectly supported more than 19,000 jobs in the state.

Table 4.

Hired Agricultural Workers in Washington State, 1990, 1995 and 1997
Source: Washington State Employment Security Department

Hours and Earnings in Washington Agriculture

Annual earnings of hired agricultural workers in Washington State averaged $13,153 in 1997 (latest available), less than one-half of the $30,755 average of all workers covered by the Employment Security Act and Federal civilian employees in the state. (Covered employment represents about 85 percent of total employment. The largest group of workers not covered is the self employed which includes many farm operators.) The average for farm workers was low because most farm workers do not work the entire year. Many are seasonal workers who may work only during harvest periods. Working hours of seasonal farm employees depend upon the needs of the crop activity, which are generally erratic due to changing weather conditions. Even during harvest periods, seasonal farm workers frequently do not work full days, much less full weeks or months.

Average annual earnings also vary widely among agricultural sectors. Farm sectors that have the highest averages have more stable employment, require more workers with specific skills or are mainly located in western Washington where there is more competition from higher paying nonfarm industries. Dairy workers were the highest paid farm workers in 1997, averaging $19,042 for the year. Unlike most other agricultural industries, dairies operate year-round requiring workers seven days a week to milk cows regardless of weather conditions. Consequently most dairy workers are employed all year and work standard 40-hour workweeks. Workers employed by potato growers earned an average of $18,041. Potato planting, cultivating, and harvesting is highly mechanized, and their relatively high earnings reflects the pay needed to attract workers who have the ability to operate and maintain the equipment.

The general farm and other classification had the next highest earnings average of $16,143. This group includes crops grown under cover, which consists mainly of mushroom farms. Like dairies, mushroom farming is a year-around operation and most of its workers are employed for standard workweeks.

The lowest average annual earnings in agriculture occur in crops which have exceptionally high labor requirements during relatively short harvest periods. Most of these workers are paid on a "piece-rate" basis and affected by erratic weather conditions. Workers in berry crops had the lowest earnings with $9,834 in 1997. Earnings in deciduous tree fruits (e.g., apples, cherries, apricots, pears) were low for similar reasons.

Table 5

Average Annual Earnings of Agricultural Workers in Washington, 1997
Source: Washington Employment Security Department