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Farm Bureau: H-2A worker certifications show how critical ag labor shortages have become

An ag economist says nationwide H-2A guest worker program increases indicate growing labor shortages in all sectors of agriculture.

American Farm Bureau Federation’s Samantha Ayoub tells Brownfield, “We have just continued to see H-2A break its own records.”

“H-2A use has grown 185 percent in the last 10 years, and it’s really a benchmark year because in fiscal year 2025, U.S. farmers demanded over 400,000 positions.”

She says foreign worker certifications deemed essential during the last government shutdown highlight just how critical the program is to the sector.

“We hope that continues to be the norm if there are shutdowns in the future, that we recognize how critical these positions and these certifications are to the U.S. supply chain,” she says.

Ayoub says Farm Bureau is hopeful House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson will sponsor legislation with additional protections for the new adverse effect wage rate methodology and further program improvements in the coming months.

She says program demand continues to rise despite application fees increasing almost 200 percent in the past two years, which includes an asylum fee for a program that no longer exists after its elimination in an executive order almost a year ago.