Rising farm labor costs are adding to the financial pressures on farmers and ranchers, particularly those using the H2A farm work program. Samantha Ayoub, economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, explains the latest insights from the newly released farm labor survey highlighting labor costs nationwide.
“The November farm labor survey release told us that combined field and livestock worker wages were $18.12 nationally, up 3.2% from the 2023 release. However, no one realistically pays the national wage. So regionally, there was an average of about four and a half percent increase in regional wages, there was actually a decrease in the lake region, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan down 2% to $18.15. But then we have places like the southeast Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina with nearly 10% increases.”
California is no longer the highest paying state for farm labor as Hawaii now leads with an average wage of 2008. That is a 7 .2 % increase from 2023.
I’m Lorrie Boyer reporting for AgNet West.