Food prices in the United States are rising at the fastest rate in decades, and many policymakers want to respond. Increasing the number of legal foreign workers available to farms would increase food production and lower prices for consumers. The H‑2A program that allows farmers to hire foreign workers has no cap. Instead, Department of Labor (DOL) H‑2A minimum wage rules limit the number of workers hired and so reduce food production, which increases food inflation.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 1603)—which passed the House of Representatives last year and is waiting for Senate action—reforms the H‑2A minimum wage rules to allow more foreign workers to harvest more crops on U.S. farms. This would be particularly important for crops with the highest cost of labor, such as fruits and vegetables, which account for about 60 percent of all H‑2A workers. This legislation could have some significant effects on this important problem:
- Food prices have increased 11.4 percent over the last year—the fastest rate in over 4 decades.
- H‑2A labor costs are increasing much faster than labor costs elsewhere.
- Agricultural unemployment reached 3.1 percent this summer.
- Low unemployment has driven 20-percent increases in the H‑2A program in 2021 and 2022.
- Increasing H‑2A costs alongside greater participation means that H‑2A wages are on pace to double by 2024 and make up over 29 percent of all farm labor costs.
- The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would reduce labor costs for H‑2A farms by about $1 billion in the first year and $1.8 billion in the second, which would result in many more workers being hired, more productivity, and lower prices for consumers.