Source: NC STATE ECONOMIST, Summer 2021


Agricultural labor availability in the United States has diminished considerably in recent years. Some decades ago, farmers had access to a stable number of laborers for their farms every season. Workers would show up at the farms asking for jobs and if there was a need for more people - particularly around harvest season - they would bring relatives quickly and easily. Wages were lowered by the labor abundance. The Farm Labor Supply Problem Today, the farm labor situation is different. Farmers across the country have been experiencing problems getting enough workers in the fields, wages have gone up and the problem worsens every year. In some cases, growers have had to sort workers to different tasks, reduce the size of their farms, discard produce and increase wages. The problem of farm labor scarcity not only affects producers; it also has the potential to threaten the nation’s food security. While the production of some crops has been increasingly mechanized, some of the most consumed fruits and vegetables in the United States need to be harvested by hand and are very labor intensive.

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