With a new congressional term kicking off, the agricultural lobby will fight to bring the Farm Workforce Modernization Act back for approval to alleviate the shortage of farmworkers across the country. The bill is now in limbo after Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives. Despite this, lawmakers could take up other measures, such as increasing farmworker minimum wage, that would help address the shortage — and more importantly, improve labor conditions for these workers.
Net farm income for last year across the United States is projected to be $160.5 billion, up from $141 billion in 2021. Although 10% of this income is from government support to help farmers recruit enough workers, this investment has done nothing to address the root causes of the farmworker shortage.
Approximately 2.5 million workers toil in U.S. farms each year. In the last two decades, farmworkers have lost more than $65 million in wage theft; few standards exist to protect their wages. According to the 2019-2020 National Agricultural Workers Survey, at least 70% of farmworkers are foreign-born and 68% were born in Mexico and Central America.
