Agriculture, North Carolina’s leading industry with an annual economic impact of $111.1 billion, not only faces increasing tariffs but also a significant labor shortage. Challenges facing the labor market include regulatory restrictions, challenges to the H2A visa program, and persistent barriers to technological advancement.
Harvest on Hold: North Carolina’s Agriculture Labor Shortages, a recently commissioned report from the John Locke Foundation, examines the labor shortage faced by farmers and ways to address it. Finally, the report proposes policy solutions to address the labor shortage.
“Farmers are dealing with hard-to-predict yields, small profit margins, and, as of recently, tariffs,” Kelly Lester, author of the report and policy analyst for the Center for Food Power and Life at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “Most, particularly small to midsize farms, cannot simply pay the same wages as competing industries AND provide job security year-round. It’s not that simple. Filling these needed farm jobs requires a multifaceted approach outlined in more detail in the report.”
The decline in the workforce is attributed to rising wages in competing industries and immigration policies impacting the H2A visa program. The shortage has been exacerbated by an aging farmer population and a decline in migration from Mexico, forcing an increased reliance on international labor as costs rise.
“As Mexico’s economy grows and anti-immigrant policy and rhetoric are continuously thrown around the executive branch, fewer and fewer immigrants are coming from Mexico,” continued Lester. “On the other side of it, Americans are very uninterested in agricultural work, with many low-skilled laborers choosing higher-paying, year-round work like construction. This is bad news for farmers already struggling to find enough laborers.”
Historically, the American agricultural workforce has heavily relied on foreign labor, especially from Mexico. In fact, almost 70% of US-based crop farmworkers are immigrants, with the majority from Mexico, according to the National Agricultural Workers Survey. According to the Locke report, farm labor from Mexico has declined in recent years due to declining birth rates and stricter immigration policies in the US.
The challenge is further intensified by growing competition for labor from other industries that provide higher wages, improved working conditions, and stable, year-round employment, according to the report. Fields like construction, food service, and manufacturing have become increasingly appealing to workers who might otherwise have considered agricultural jobs. Given the physically demanding nature of farm work and its comparatively low pay, agriculture is becoming a less attractive option when more favorable alternatives are available.
“One of the most significant factors exacerbating farm labor shortages in the United States is the increasing shift of agricultural workers into the construction sector,” reads the report. “This movement is largely driven by economic incentives, as construction offers significantly higher wages and better working conditions compared to farm labor.”
According to the report, North Carolina ranks fourth among the states regarding the percentage of the agricultural workforce employed via the H2A visa program. More than 25,000 workers are certified in the state under the H2A program. North Carolina’s dependence on the H2A program is due to the diverse nature of the agricultural landscape, which spotlights sweet potatoes, tobacco, and Christmas trees, all labor-intensive crops.
“North Carolina’s agricultural employers face particular challenges due to the seasonal nature of their crops and the shrinking availability of domestic labor,” reads the report. “Many of these employers rely significantly on H2A workers to meet labor needs during critical harvest periods. While the program has been crucial in sustaining agricultural output, it also imposes considerable administrative and financial burdens on employers, particularly smaller farms with limited resources.”
The report details the challenges facing the H2A visa program, including administrative red tape, supply constraints, and inconsistencies regarding worker protections. It also addresses recruitment challenges and solutions to technological advancement issues.
Addressing the labor shortage and the agricultural industry’s demographic shift means getting more individuals interested in agricultural careers. Private schools have more flexibility in their curriculum than public schools. North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Program can increase access to private schools that have the flexibility to offer courses in farming, agribusiness, and food science.
Finally, technological advancements would go a long way toward addressing the labor shortage, but certain barriers create challenges to advancement. Expanding the regulatory sandbox — a term for areas of the economy exempt from certain regulations — to include agriculture would allow for the testing of automation, AI solutions, and robotics without the burden of excessive red tape.
“This reform would encourage investment in labor-saving technologies such as automated harvesting systems and precision irrigation,” reads the report.
The report includes policy recommendations that would reduce administrative red tape and financial burdens on farmers, expanding agricultural education through school choice, reducing regulatory burdens at the state level, and incentivizing technological innovations through a regulatory sandbox.