In efforts to attract qualified farm labor, California farmers and ranchers have increased their wages due to the chronic employee shortages. In the recent Adapting to Farm Worker Scarcity Survey for 2919 conducted by the California Farm Bureau Federation and UC Davis, data showed there was an increase in farm labor shortage despite more farmers were offering higher pay. The study found that 86 percent of all respondents raised their wages in 2018, with roughly 30 percent starting those increases back in 2014.
CFBF President Jamie Johansson talks more about the issue in the report below.