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USDA says farm wages are up, H-2A costs could follow

The USDA says farmers and ranchers are paying more for labor, but fewer people are working compared to last year.

In its latest Farm Labor Survey report, USDA says wages in October were up 6 percent from last year and the number of hired domestic workers was down one percent to 776,000.

The national average gross wage during October was $18.81 per hour, with field workers earning $18.24 per hour and livestock employees making $17.19.

Wages for all hired workers averaged $18.53 for the year.

Workers in California earned the most, $21.50 per hour, followed by Hawaii and the Lake Region which includes Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, tied at $20.38.

The Farm Labor Survey does not include H-2A guest workers, but the results will be used to set wage rates for them.

Michigan Farm Bureau estimates the data will be used to increase H-2A worker pay in 2024 by nearly seven percent, to $18.50 per hour for the state.  The organization is calling for members of Congress to support a bill in the U.S. House that would put a one-year freeze on H-2A wages.