Michigan’s population of migrant farm workers is growing. State officials say the number of seasonal farm workers has risen by more than seven percent since 2006.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights says that means the state ranks fifth in the nation in the number of registered migrant workers. It says migrants and their families add about 94,000 people to Michigan’s population. Van Buren and Ottawa counties each have more than 12,000 during the peak harvest season.
The figures come from the 2013 Michigan Update Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Enumeration Profiles Study. The report's author, Alice Larson, will speak about her findings in Benton Harbor on Wednesday, August 7th.
