Chapter 3: Shortage of Labor

Before the rise of machines and technology, the citizens of the United States did everything by hand. Hunting, gather, and farming were staples in the way of life. Individuals who owned land and operated farms were deemed important and successful. As the years go on, we are leaving this mindset behind. Now, people strive to be doctors and lawyers, professions that are deemed “elite” and “important”. No one grows up wanting to be a farmer. According to “North Carolina Growers Facing Labor Shortage,” an article published in Farm Press, there were 7,500 jobs posted within the agriculture industry with only 350 applicants applying. This lack of interest in working in this field then results in decrease in production. In a 2011 study done in Georgia, 80.3 percent of farms admitted to having labor shortages, which is equal to 5,244 unfilled agricultural positions, resulting in a crop loss worth around 75 million dollars (Luo & Escalante 560). This lack in labor affects how much crop output we have to feed an increasing population while also affecting the economic status of the United States, as agriculture makes up a major portion of the United States economy. A way that can potentially help to fix the loss of labor in agriculture is the use of immigrant workers.

It is safe to say that many United States citizens don’t like the farming life. They don’t want to do the hard labor that comes with it, and there are many immigrants out there that are willing, and wanting to do that same work that we want to avoid. In North Carolina they have “strong guest worker visa programs” and rely on about 90,000 immigrant workers, with 60,000 being illegal (Roberson 8). This population of migrant workers make up the majority of agricultural labor, but since they are mostly illegal, we are at risk of losing a large portion. In order to combat this, and prevent further loss, the United States can implement H-2A programs.

H-2A programs allow the farms can use the labor of migrant workers legally, with the migrant worker receiving pay and benefits. Both parties in this agreement benefit from the use of H-2A. When it comes to the farmer, the use of an H-2A migrant worker costs them $9.70 an hour while getting an actual farm worker costs around $1000 (Roberson 9). This work saves them money, while also being able to obtain more workers, when it comes to the migrant worker they receive “housing, on-farm transportation, workers compensation insurance, and a number of other provisions” (Roberson 10). The H-2A program will help to benefit the life of the migrant worker in the United States, while saving the farm money and filling the missing labor the agriculture industry currently has.

Many individuals are weary of increasing the amount of immigrant workers in the United States. They have stated other solutions to fixing the labor shortage. One aspect that has been looking at is mechanization. The goal for this is that machines input less work from laborers, while outputting more work than all of them combined. While this may seem like a great solution, it just isn’t feasible. Farm machines are expensive, with newer models costing between “$150,000 to more than $500,000” (Luo & Escalante 370). With the prices increase, farms wouldn’t be able to keep up with affording the machinery they need in order to get the work done.