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Texas Agriculture Archive

June 6, 2003

Agricultural workers receive a raise
There were 938,000 hired workers on the nation's farms and ranches the week of April 6-12, 2003, down 13 percent from a year ago.

Of these hired workers, 781,000 workers are hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 157,000 workers.

Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $9.16 per hour during the April 2003 reference week, up 33 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $8.40 per hour, up 34 cents from last April, while livestock workers earned $8.75 per hour compared with $8.43 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $8.49 per hour, was up 34 cents from last year.

The number of hours worked averaged 40.1 hours for hired workers during the survey week compared with 40.2 hours a year ago.
Source: NSAA, Farm Labor, May 2003

Guard your credit by requesting a credit report once a year. Check to make sure that the information is correct. Credit reports typically cost about $10 to $15 and can be accessed as follows:

•Equifax: (800) 685-1111, www.equifax.com.

•Experian (Formerly TRW): (888) 397-3742, www.experian.com.

•TransUnion (800) 888-4213, www.transunion.com.

In addition to safeguarding your financial security, the credit report sheds lights on your credit history as seen from your lender's eyes. Based on credit reports, credit bureaus use a mathematical equation to develop credit scores that are used to indicate the borrower's future credit risk. Credit scores are typically called "FICO scores" because the major credit bureaus use scores produced from software developed by Fair Isaac and Company.
Source: Doane's Management Planner, May 23, 2003

Most consumers (62 percent) expect to see benefits from biotechnology in the next five years, including better foods (43 percent), reduced pesticide use (19 percent), lower food prices (10 percent), and better crop yields (9 percent).

The survey also showed 77 percent found no fault with current food labeling policies; only 2 percent volunteered they would like anything related to "genetically engineered" added to a food label.

Research over the past decade shows biotechnology simply isn't a significant issue for most consumers, says David B. Schmidt, senior vice president for food safety and global relations for IFIC. Only surveys that intentionally eliminate context or use negative, emotional terms to frighten consumers produce numbers that seem to oppose biotech foods, he says.
Source: Doane's Agricultural Report, May 2, 2003