The USDA says farmers who hire H-2A workers next year will be paying higher wages, and in some cases, by a lot more.
Senior Economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, Veronica Nigh, shares details about their recent survey.
“The USDA’s Farm Labor Survey told us that wage rates across the United States, in all states, in all regions, increased in 2023. The Farm Labor Survey tells us that in 2024, farmers in 13 states will pay more than $1 more per hour to their H-2A employees than they did this year. Farmers in 31 states will pay between 50 cents and $1 more. Only in six states is the increase for next year less than 50 cents.”
Why is this information important?
“USDA’s Farm Labor Survey is utilized by the Department of Labor to establish the Adverse Effect Wage Rates that growers must pay H-2A workers through the temporary visa program. So, these wage rates really make or break for farmers as to whether or not the wage rates they pay out through the H-2A program are going to be viable for their business.”
Nigh says the smallest wage increases were seen in the Corn Belt and the largest in Hawaii.
