A national coalition of U.S. farmers has launched an advocacy campaign to highlight the country’s growing agricultural labor shortages. USDA data shows nearly 70 percent of crop workers from 2020 to 2022 were foreign-born, and the number of seasonal H-2A visa workers has increased more than seven-fold since 2005.  

Kristi Boswell, advisor to the “Grow It Here” campaign and a former USDA official, says a strong, stable workforce is essential to keep farms in business and food affordable.

“Many have turned to the H-2A agricultural visa program, which provides farm employers with temporary and seasonal access to foreign labor. The program has grown exponentially out of sheer necessity, but it is incredibly bureaucratic and expensive. As is often said, you shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer to hire a farmworker. Also, as a seasonal program, the H-2A program is not available to fill year-round needs.”

Brandon Batten, with Triple B Farms in North Carolina, says the biggest threat to his operation isn’t weather or markets, but a lack of workers.

“Labor is my biggest challenge every year; it seems to become more and more of a headache. About a decade ago, out of necessity, we transitioned to the H-2A program because the local workforce just was not available, was not reliable and, quite frankly, couldn’t get the job done. As expensive and onerous as the program is, it’s more expensive to plant a crop and not be able to get it harvested. In light of these labor challenges, we have mechanized our operation as much as we can to reduce reliance on labor, but with the high-value crops we grow here in North Carolina, we have to have a certain amount [of labor] to get those to the shelves.”

He says it’s a lot on his shoulders to find help.

“As a family farm, you know, I am the HR department, I am the legal department, I’m the accounting department, and I rely on some of these people to help me get these workers here.”

He speaks for a lot of farmers and ranchers dealing with uncertainty.

“What keeps me awake at night is, am I going to be the generation that ends it? Does this all end with me? And, you know, my children are old enough now to take an interest in the farm, so I wrestle with, am I doing them a favor or doing them a disservice by planting this seed and love for agriculture that they may never get to harvest?”

“Grow It Here” represents a variety of commodities, from livestock and dairy to fruits and vegetables. It’s planning listening sessions across the country to push for a more reliable workforce.

For more information on “Grow It Here,” visit their website at https://www.growithere.org.