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Post-election farm labor concerns

An Ohio State University assistant professor says the future is uncertain for the farm labor market in the U.S.

Margaret Jodlowski says the number of H-2A workers has steadily increased since 2015. 

“The number of H-2A workers coming into Ohio has basically doubled every year,” she says. “The growth of that is reflecting again the lack of available labor.”

She tells Brownfield changes in ag policy could impact future labor supply.

“There’s been a lot of policy rhetoric around the program, so different aspects of, for example the Project 2025 agenda,” she says. “It’s deep in there, but it does mention a phase out of the program starting with caps.”

Jodlowski says this could lead to the relocation of some labor-intensive crop production strategies to other countries.

Brownfield interviewed Jodlowski during this week’s Ohio State Ag Policy and Outlook Conference.

AUDIO: Margaret Jodlowski, Ohio State University