![]() If the state and/or federal minimum wage rises in the future, farmers exceeding the 500 man-day exception will need to provide the higher wage rate. As of March 2016, Iowa and federal minimum wage rates are the same- $7.25 per hour. If an Iowa farm exceeds the 500 man-day exception, the farm must pay workers at least the minimum wage rate. An attorney can provide the best answer, but where consulting an attorney isn’t feasible, a farmer can always play it safe by paying the minimum wage. “Agricultural labor” has a very specific legal definition and may not include all functions a farm or farmer may perform such as farmers’ market sales, packaging product grown by a different farmer, and some construction or logging activities. If a farm has workers perform non-agricultural labor, the farmer owes the workers minimum wage for the entire week in which the non-agricultural labor was performed, regardless of the farm’s man-days last year. The exemption above only applies to agricultural labor. Read the legal code, 29 USC Section 213 at: Please refer to a helpful chart in Appendix B of the FLAG publication “Farmers’ Guide to Farm Employees” for assistance in determining if a farm exceeds this exception. Calendar quarters are January through March, April through June, and so forth. If the farm has more than 500 man-days of labor in last year’s calendar quarter, he or she must pay minimum wage this year. In that situation, the farm incurred three man-days on June 1. For example, on June 1, three workers perform agricultural labor for two hours before going home. A man-day is any day on which a worker performs agricultural labor for at least one hour. A “small farm” is one that used fewer than 500 “man-days” of labor during a calendar quarter in the previous year. First, Iowa farmers may pay workers who perform agricultural labor less than minimum wage if they meet the federal “small farm” exemption. There a few situations in which farm workers may be paid less than minimum wage. When must a farm pay workers at least the minimum wage rate?
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