Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The Plight of H2A and the Southern Farms Who Need It

According to the American Immigration Council, the H2A program will need to expand its capacity in the coming years. Between 2017 and 2022 demand for H2A laborers increased by 65% with a high concentration of demand coming from southern states known for fruit and vegetable production. The need for seasonal guest laborers is expected to grow alongside a commitment to reduce reliance on foreign goods and revitalize domestic production of commodities.  Farm production will lean heavily on mechanized technology or H2A programs for additional agricultural laborers to support this commitment.

Why Do We Need Temporary Foreign Labor?

Fewer Americans entering the workforce are interested in the type of manual labor associated with field work. The average age of agricultural workers is 41 years old. Age is believed to be the driving factor behind the influx of H2A requests by American farmers and ranchers.  Without a next generation of domestic workers willing to replace current field laborers as they age out of the occupation, the void left is and will continue to be filled by foreign laborers.  These same labor gaps have contributed to a growing reliance on foreign goods.  

We may have the arable acreage to produce food but not the manpower readily available to make it happen.  The fact that the work is seasonal is likely playing a part as well. Of 380,000 job postings in 2023 only 10,000 were filled by Americans available and willing to perform the labor intensive work.

The dynamic left unaddressed could contribute to a decrease in food security here in America. Trading a dependence on foreign goods for a dependence on guest laborers may not present a perfect solution to safeguarding food supplies, but is a realistic step towards revitalizing domestic production of commodities we've recently been importing. If this is the case then the H2A program will play a significant role protecting some of our food supplies.

Guaranteeing accessible food options could mean more than expanding the H2A programs for a greater number of field workers. Dairy farms and meat packing facilities have also requested additional assistance through H2A as they too have found it increasingly difficult to find reliable employees. This would require changes to the program, since right now it only covers seasonal jobs, like harvesting. Done effectively, the multi-agency collaboration could continue to lay valuable groundwork for all types of industries to fairly leverage temporary labor to secure supply chains. 

Growth in certified organic products has also increased demand for labor. Reduced chemical use requires more labor to address the same concerns. Americans have shown a growing interest in purchasing chemical free produce, but not the gumption to roll up their sleeves and participate in the manual labor or the infrastructure needed to support the labor involved with shifting to that type of large scale agricultural production.

Can H2A Programs Accommodate the Labor Demands?

H2A programs rely on a network of agencies including The Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security.  Each agency plays a role in conducting employee interviews, reviewing applications to ensure requirements are met, validating work permits and auditing farms to uphold the rights of both the guest workers and their hosts. The success of the programs hinges on their ability to uphold the standards of quality working conditions while still allowing for a large number of foreign workers to fill labor gaps in the United States.

In 2018 roughly half of the H2A applications submitted by farmers and ranchers in the U.S. were flagged for their inability to meet requirements.  Lack of adequate housing and missing information, primarily regarding employee transportation, were the top reasons applications were denied or flagged. In 2022 only one third of applications submitted were flagged. 

Could the decrease be a sign that the H2A program is successfully raising quality standards for foreign laborers, or proof that the system is strained?  According to records, 500 audits were conducted in 2018 and only 30 in 2023 which has caused many to believe that agencies involved in the H2A program are under significant strain already and unable to perform necessary audits. A growing demand for agricultural workers could increase pressure and jeopardize the quality of working conditions for a growing number of people entering the country for seasonal labor.

If H2A is already having a tough time managing current demand, is it realistic to think the regulatory agencies overseeing operations will be capable of extending the program into more of the dairy and meat packing industries? 

Can Southern Farmers Afford H2A?

Among the increasing costs associated with farming, participating in H2A programs can add additional expenses to tight budgets. Farmers participating in H2A programs take responsibility for administrative fees, housing fees as well as regular wages for employees. Farmers in southern states which have become increasingly more dependent on foreign laborers have not experienced a financial benefit from additional employees. Even as they expand their harvest capacity by employing seasonal or even year round help, production costs continue to go up as well. 

States like North Carolina have questioned the cost of H2A participation and disparities between wage requirements across the country.  North Carolina has had to pay higher wage rates in the past than neighboring South Carolina. On a strawberry farm in the state whose accounts show 600,000 hours of clocked field time for H2A workers, a $1 dollar an hour increase in wages amounts to a $600,000 decrease in profits. 

Coupled with higher priced storage crates, fertilizer and fuel farmers are certainly caught between a rock and a hard place. It’s expensive to rely on guest laborers and it’s expensive to not have enough help. Yet, if we want to produce more and import less, it seems we will have to make the H2A program work on a much larger scale.