Latino Immigrants in

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Latino Immigrants in Wisconsins Dairy Industry
Brent Valentine
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Study Basics

• 2004-Masters Thesis (UC-San Diego)
• Interviewed 57 immigrant employees and 28
  employers
• Interviews were carried out in Brown, Kewaunee,
  Manitowoc, and Buffalo counties.
• Major research questions
• Are immigrants settling?
• What are the communities saying about their new
  members?
• How has immigrant labor impacted the dairy
  industry?
• 2007-UW-Extension/PATS research
• Surveyed 309 (immigrant and U.S. born) employees
  and 34 employers
• Surveys were carried out in Fond du Lac and
  Sheboygan counties.
• Major research questions
• How much training do employees receive?
• Where is the immigrant workforce coming from?
• Working conditions

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Frequency of U.S. born Applications for Dairy
Employment (Employer Response)
July 2004
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July 2004 Summer 2007
Year Dairy Employers Started Employing Latino
Immigrants
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July 2004
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Major Sending States
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Demographic Basics of Immigrant Population
Interviewed
July 2007

• 13 Female, 87 Male
• 60 are married and of those married 67 have
  their immediate family (spouse and/or child) here
  in Wisconsin
• Another 17 of those married have plans to bring
  their family to Wisconsin
• 80 of the respondents live with family members,
  while 18 live with co-workers, and another 2
  live alone.

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Time Flies
July 2007

• Average number of years living in Wisconsin
  5.20 years.
• Average number of years immigrants expected to
  live in Wisconsin before arrival 2.4 years.

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Large Dairy (600 cows or more) (67)
Owner
Parlor Manager
Herd Manager
Operations Manager
Herdperson
Tractor Driver/ Maintenance
Assistant Herdperson
Feeder
Calf Care
Milkers
Immigrant Workers Are Concentrated in Red Boxes
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Medium Dairy (200-600 cows) (33)
Owner
Herdperson
Feeder
Milkers
Calf Care
Immigrant Workers Are Concentrated in Red Boxes
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Who Does What on the Dairy?

Immigrant U.S. Born Milker 90 10 C
alf Care 81 19 Feeder 53 47 Herdperso
n 41 59 Other 31 69
Supervisor/Manager 21 79
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Tenure of Immigrant Workers
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Wages and Time Spent in the United States
Summer 2007
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U.S Born Versus Immigrant Hourly Pay
July 2007
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Dairy Experience

• 44 of the immigrants surveyed had prior dairy
  experience.
• 84 of the U.S. born employees surveyed had prior
  dairy experience
• 54 of the U.S. born employees grew up working on
  a dairy farm.

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Benefits Offered to Immigrant and U.S. Born
Employees
July 2007
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July 2007
How To Move Up the Ladder

• Language training
• 90 of immigrants interviewed want to take an
  English class
• Immigrant interest in learning new skills (85)
• Animal health care (47)
• Machinery Operation (15)
• Feeding Animals (10)

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Education Levels Among Immigrant Dairy Workers
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Bilingual Abilities
July 2007

• Immigrant U.S. Born
• None 27 35
• Some (Task Specific) 51 58
• Good 2 3
• Very Good 10 3
• Fluent 10 1

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Language Abilities by Job
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Formation of a Community
July 2007

• Sense of community
• 78 felt like they were part of a community
• 71 have contact with other Latinos outside of
  work
• 23 had experienced discrimination in Wisconsin.

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Where They Would Like to Live in Ten Years
July 2007
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Areas of Emphasis

• Resolve the immigration policy problems that
  exist
• Create an accepting culture in urban and rural
  communities
• Increase language skills
• Improve skills training on the dairy

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Thank You
Brent Valentine brentvalentine_at_yahoo.com