The agricultural workforce is shrinking and has been for some time. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) estimates that roughly 2.4 million farm jobs need to be filled annually, but there has been a drastic decline in the number of workers each year.

The AFBF notes that more than 73% of farm workers are immigrants from South America and Mexico. The United States' H-2A visa program, which allows employers who meet specific requirements to bring in foreign laborers for temporary work, has increased the number of accepted applications for immigrants to 250,000, but this number is still just a drop in the bucket in terms of labor needs.

As more farm operators reach retirement age, fewer young farmers are replacing them, possibly because a career in this sector isn't always easy or lucrative. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for every dollar spent on food, a farmer receives only 7.6 cents. Farmers were predicted to lose 9.7% of total net income in 2021. Working in agriculture can also mean volatile pricing, high real estate and land costs, steep initial machinery investment costs, and physically demanding tasks.

Many people with knowledge of the industry indicate that sweeping changes are warranted. Ellen Poeschl, the project director for the National Association of Agricultural Educators' Teach Ag campaign, said that a lack of agricultural education is contributing to the worker shortage. Increasing availability of agriculture education courses across the country could build interest in the industry. Connecting students to internships or mentors may help, too.

Another option is to rally for greater economic opportunities in agriculture. Those working in the industry may look for innovative ways to make the economic benefits more competitive to other industries, and improve working conditions and job flexibility. Agricultural industries currently average only 60% of what other industries offer in salaries. Farm wages have been rising due to the H-2A program, which requires farm worker pay to be higher than the state and federal minimum wage. Further change may be possible, but this may have to come at the federal level or be sparked by efforts on the part of agricultural advocacy groups.

Additional strategies farm operators may employ to combat shortages include integrating technology to reduce labor burdens, switching to crops that require fewer laborers, leasing portions of land to make extra money, and employing temporary guest workers.

Worker shortages continue to be problematic for the agricultural industry, but a variety of tactics may be available to address the issue.