20 Years Ago | Helicopters Vital in Champagne Production

Michelle Miller - michelle@thefarmbabe.com

U.S. Agriculture is often held in a negative light regarding its labor force. You can find many claims about how farmers are simply using immigrant labor to underpay & downright abuse their workers so the farmer can rake in the profits. But, this has little evidence to back it up. U.S. agriculture depends on immigrant labor. Without this workforce, crops would be left in the field to rot, and farmers would make zero profit; therefore, they care a lot for this precious resource.

Immigrant farmworkers make up an estimated 73% of agricultural workers. Without their important efforts, we would not have any fresh fruits or vegetables grown in the United States. These are immigrants, meaning they weren’t born in the U.S., but they don’t fit the bill of what many people picture as “illegal immigrants.” More than 80% of hired crop farmworkers live within seventy-five miles of the farm they work on and have lived in the U.S. for over 10 years. Yes, 50% of the farm labor workforce is undocumented, yet they still pay taxes and contribute to our local economy as they live here and spend their money here. They are husbands & wives (59% are married), parents (52%), and our neighbors, members of our local community, and frankly, we depend on them as part of the process to provide us with a safe and steady food supply.

Foreign-born workers have been hard to come by in the last few years. There are ten states responsible for the majority of U.S. Agriculture production, with California boasting the largest share of production. Labor shortages were being experienced onfarm long before the covid-19 pandemic. A recent survey shows that 56% of California farmers reported being unable to find the necessary number of workers over the last five years. Fewer immigrants are looking for work in the United States as immigration policies impact and incomes rise in Mexico, lowering the need to seek foreign-based jobs. Without the workers’ foods sit in the fields unharvested, contributing to food waste and millions of dollars in lost production. One common rumor is that workers aren’t paid appropriately for the vital work, but workers are paid well and what we are able to. ➤

Through programs like H2A, agricultural workers are paid on average between $15-$22 an hour after bonuses (depending on crop, region and volume) over double the current federal minimum wage. In other countries like Mexico, they could only make $10-$15 a day, so it can be difficult for U.S. farmers to compete against imported produce in the grocery aisle. And, sometimes, the cost of production and employment is higher than the cost they’d actually get paid for the crop, which means, at times, the harvest must be left behind in the field. It can be a sad and complicated economic situation.

Unfortunately, 43% of farmworkers have utilized public assistance, which is greater than the 19% of U.S. citizens on assistance programs. Yet, one would expect this, and it may not be a direct reflection of their wages. Many of these families left struggling countries for a better life. They, therefore, didn’t have the greatest start in their life in the United States, so, understandably, a portion of them will require some assistance as they work to build financial stability. Labor is already a huge cost for farmers, accounting for 48% of production costs for fresh fruits and 35% of the expenses for fresh vegetable farms. Hand-picked products are more expensive, and any increase in wages would drive up food prices which may be difficult for consumers. A total loss of foreign farmworkers would result in significantly higher food prices, with some commodities doubling in price. Total agricultural output for the country would fall by $30 to $60 billion as farms closed up shop due to no labor.

Foreign-born workers are a vital asset to U.S. food security and domestic production. These people are a critical resource for farmers and the general public if we intend to maintain the flourishing agriculture industry. No, these people aren’t abused and used. They are taken care of to the best of a farmer’s ability, with wages and sometimes with housing, transportation, food, childcare, and other general needs. We appreciate their willingness to work, and they appreciate the opportunities for a better life. Immigrant workers & farmers have a mutually beneficial relationship, and any general statement contradicting this fact is just a myth.