Farmworker shortage has led to higher wages, more foreign workers; could lead farmers to switch crops or automate

Farm employment and wage trends since 2003; click on the
chart to enlarge it. (AAEA chart)

The number of U.S. farmworkers has decreased by more than 104,000 since 2003, about a 12% drop, according to newly published research by the nonprofit Agricultural & Applied Economics Association.

The trend has led to a steady annual increase in wages of about 30 cents per hour, and has also led farmers to rely more on foreign farmworkers, according to the report. The H-2A visa program, which oversees foreign farmworkers, received 252,679 requests for workers in 2018, the most ever, and the number has increased 196 percent over the last decade. Farmers aren't hiring local or domestic labor because there generally aren't enough people willing or able to do the work.

If the decline continues, many farmers may decide to switch to less labor-intensive crops and/or rely more on automation, the report says. States that rely most on H-2A workers, like California, Florida, Washington, and Georgia, produce a lot of fruits and vegetables that require hand-harvesting.