Who are Farmworkers?
There are an estimated 4.2 million seasonal and migrant farmworkers and their dependents in the United States; 1.6 million are classified as migrant (9). Migrant and seasonal farmworkers work in more than 40 of the 50 states. As defined in federal statutes governing migrant health funds, a migrant farmworker is an individual or dependent whose principal employment is in agriculture on a seasonal basis and who, for purposes of employment, establishes a temporary home. The migration may be from farm to farm within a state, interstate, or international. A seasonal farmworker is an individual or dependent whose principal employment is in agriculture on a seasonal basis and who is not a migratory worker. In both cases the definition extends to employment obtained within the past 24 months. National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) data show the national farmworker population has become increasingly Latino and Mexican during the past decade. In 1995, 90% of all migrant and seasonal farmwor
