Farmers will pay more out of pocket for labor in 2020.
Agripulse reports the national H2A farm worker wage will jump 6 percent to an average of $13.99 per hour. Regions with the largest increases include the Corn Belt and the Southwest.
Ohio, Indiana, & Illinois will rise 10 percent from $13.26 To $14.52 an hour. In Missouri & Iowa, hourly payments will jump to $14.58, while Utah, Colorado and Nevada farmers will pay $14.26 an hour; up 9 percent.
The number of H2A program applications hit a record high in 2019. The Labor Department approved nearly 260 thousand H2A visas, up 6 percent from the year before.
More than 300 ag groups support the H2A workforce modernization act passed by the House earlier this month. The legislation would expand the program to year-round workers and offer growers some wage relief.
