Use of the H-2A agricultural worker program continues to grow as domestic farm labor shortages persist across the country, according to the American Farm Bureau. The program, which allows farmers to hire seasonal workers from abroad, is seeing accelerating uptake with no signs of slowing.
For the produce industry specifically, H-2A is a critical safety valve. Fresh fruit and vegetable operations are among the most labor-intensive in agriculture, and without adequate harvest and packing workers, supply disruptions can happen even when growing conditions are ideal. Rising H-2A usage reflects both the severity of domestic labor scarcity and growers' willingness to absorb the program's higher costs to keep operations running.
With H-2A reform legislation already circulating in Washington, this trend is worth watching closely — any changes to program rules, wage requirements, or certification timelines could have direct ripple effects on produce supply chain reliability and input costs.