Calvin Lunsford Beale was born in Washington, DC, on June 6, 1923, and passed away at age 85 on September 2, 2008. He was a city boy born and bred, and while he "never wanted to live in a rural area" he became one of the most astute observers of rural America in the latter half of the twentieth century. Calvin spent the majority of his…

Energy is relevant to all areas of human life; energy sustains us through food, drives our transportation, warms and cools our buildings, and powers our electrical gadgets. In nature, ecosystems function by capturing and transforming energy. Agroecosystems are formed when humans manipulate the capture and flow of energy for food, fiber, and fuel…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contextualise historically transnational labour experiences within guest worker programs in Canada and to provide a conceptual foundation for analysing work, learning and living relations with special attention to agricultural workers. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on a critical review…

Illegal migrants are a nonentity in the United States, and, to a certain extent, many prefer it that way. They exist in society's netherworld, living under their own code of survival by whatever means they can, since the alternatives are less inviting. Mostly, they struggle. People take advantage of them at every opportunity because they are…

In this article, the author reflects on the events that took place in the year 1972. The author was a junior at the University of New Mexico back then, refusing to eat or buy grapes and lettuce, picketing grocers who did not carry United Farm Workers of America produce. He and his buddies cast their votes against granting Richard Nixon a second…

Focusing on students' responses to an 1876 writing assignment at Illinois Industrial University (which would ultimately become the University of Illinois), the author analyzes ideological tensions that occurred as the United States found itself revising the pastoral image of the farmer in an increasingly industrial age. (Contains 9 notes.)

Rural sociologists have seemingly moved away from an active interest in the plight of migrant farmworkers and the centrality of their labor in the development of U.S. agribusiness. Answering Pfeffer's (1983) call to analyze the different forms of agricultural production, I focus on the key formative period of what I refer to as the U.S. capitalist…

The agricultural economy in the United States has relied heavily on migrant farmworkers and, in particular, on Latinos. However, migrant families remain one of the most disadvantaged groups in the United States. This research focuses on a subsample of migrant families of Mexican origin (n=13), who participated in the "Rural Families…

The report examines characteristics of crew workers (farmworkers who work for contractors) and noncrew workers in 1981 and reviews Federal legislation designed to protect crew workers and to control farm labor contractors. During 1981 approximately 250,000 crew workers comprised 10% of hired farmworkers. Crew workers were 53% White, 28% Hispanic,…

Comments on the health of migrant farmworkers in the U.S. and the Border Industrialization ("twin plants") Program with a brief description of the unique U.S.-Mexico border region, emphasizing the status of air pollution, housing, nutrition, and health care. Available from Southwest Economy & Society, Box 4482, Albuquerque, New…

Utilizing data obtained from the 1970 and 1966 June Enumerative Surveys, the U.S. farm population (both operator and nonoperator) was identified by race, tenure, and value of farm products. Data were analyzed in reference to the following questions: (1) How many and what proportion of farm people live on farms of adequate and/or marginal…

This booklet is a guide to the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (also known as the Wage-Hour Law) which apply to minors employed in agriculture. The content is as follows: coverage of the child labor provisions regarding agricultural employment, minimum age standards for employment in agriculture, school hours and employment in…

This report summarizes the findings of a national study to determine what skills and competencies are needed by beginning employees on sheep ranches and farms, lamb feedlots, and in the sheep shearing industry. The research procedure, which involved determining from the sheep industry the competencies needed by beginning employees in the thirteen…

The study identified programs serving the needs of migrant families and problems in improving services to more adequately address these needs. Exemplary programs were identified which were currently serving migrants through child care, health, education, and outreach services. The study included a literature review, a survey of 90 training…

Using data obtained in December 1979 from the biennial Hired Farm Working Force Survey supplement of the Current Population Survey, case weights were applied to obtain a sample of 149 migrant farmworker case studies (selected from an estimated 217,000 migrant farmworkers) to ascertain the agricultural attachment level of migrant farmworkers in…