Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE 4/19/19

The continuing decline of available domestic farm labor could prompt owners to switch to non-labor-intensive crops or place greater emphasis on technology and mechanization — in addition to further relying on the H-2A foreign guestworker program, predicts a new paper published by the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association.

Over the past 15 years, the number of U.S. farm workers has dropped by about 12 percent, a loss of over 104,000 workers, the research states. Florida and California — two states that heavily rely on laborers to pick fruits and vegetables — have been most affected by the shortage. That decline has led to an increase in wages that have risen steadily by an annual average of 30 cents per hour.

The shortage has also driven farmers to depend more on the H-2A program, which brings in foreign workers on a seasonal basis. The program saw the most requests for workers ever in 2018 — 242,762 positions were certified, representing an increase of 196 percent over 10 years.

Looking ahead: The researchers called on policymakers to more thoroughly investigate the labor shortage, as well as provide solutions to the problem. "In addition, a discussion over immigration policies and possible adverse labor market effects from an increasing H-2A labor force should continue," the paper says.