We'd Like To Mention

How hard is it to find good farm labor these days? According to a recent DTN/Progressive Farmer poll, it's very hard. Of the 76 ag employers who responded to our informal, online survey, 79% said hiring workers was "somewhat difficult" or "very difficult." Only about 8% found it "somewhat" or "very easy."

Though a small sample, it lines up with what we're hearing in interviews and seeing in national trends. Whether it's row-crop or livestock operations in the Midwest, dairies in the Northeast or fruit and vegetable farms out West, the story is the same: There aren't enough people willing -- or able -- to do the work.

This special issue of Progressive Farmer, "Labor Pains," explores what's driving the worker shortage and shares strategies some producers are using to adapt.

HOW BAD IS IT REALLY?

The scope of the shortage is hard to fully capture. Federal agencies track employment numbers, but no single data set paints a complete picture. One expert trying to change that is Zachariah Rutledge, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at Michigan State University. Over the past five years, he's surveyed around 2,500 farmers, and about half said they couldn't hire all the workers they needed. On average, those farms were running about 20% short on labor.

While many of his responses came from California, home to a high number of labor-intensive fruit and vegetable farms, Rutledge says labor shortages appear across all types of crop-production operations.

Another indicator is the growth of the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers Program, which allows foreign workers to fill seasonal farm jobs when U.S. workers aren't available. Samantha Ayoub, associate economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, notes that certified H-2A positions have jumped from under 100,000 in 2013 to nearly 400,000 today. Employers must first attempt to hire U.S. workers, but Ayoub says fewer than 3% of H-2A job postings result in domestic applications.

For growers like John Boelts, president of the Arizona Farm Bureau, who spoke with DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton, the situation is clear: "American agriculture is withering on the vine due to a lack of workers."

WHAT'S BEHIND THE STORAGE?

Several overlapping factors are to blame.

-- The U.S. labor participation rate has not rebounded to pre-COVID levels, Ayoub says.

-- The nation's workforce is aging. By 2026, nearly a quarter of workers will be over 55, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

-- Fewer young people are entering ag careers.

-- Long hours, tough work and rural isolation deter applicants.

-- Immigration policies create uncertainty for employers and workers alike. Programs like H-2A are essential, but they're also complex, expensive and slow.

SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS

Despite all of this, there are success stories. In this issue, we'll show you how producers are getting creative -- offering better benefits and more flexibility, focusing on workplace culture, training workers from other industries and making the most of the employees they do have. We'll also look at how some are using mentorship programs to bring new people into ag and explore the role technology might play in easing the load.

Agriculture's labor pains won't vanish overnight. We hope the advice and insights in this issue will help to ease some of that pain.

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-- You may email Anthony at anthony.greder@dtn.com, or reach him on social platform X @AGrederDTN

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