Source: FARM DOC DAILY, UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, 7/27/17


Differences in the cost of living across U.S. complicates ongoing farm labor challenges. Farm industry groups, agricultural media, and even the popular press have covered declining availability of farmworkers as well as the increasing cost of farm labor. Many farms have been struggling to find crop workers and to afford competitive wages. As described in a recent farmdoc daily article, rising wages and expanding mandates for worker benefits will substantially increase farm labor costs over the next decade in states that account for the majority of U.S. fruit and vegetable production.

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