By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

The H-2A program grew in 2025 with more than 400,000 workers requested, highlighting the continued domestic labor shortages farmers and ranchers face.

The program has grown 185% over the past decade, with 398,258 positions certified nationwide last year. Over 13,300 additional workers were certified in 2025 compared to 2024. This growth reflects a lack of domestic interest in seasonal agricultural jobs, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

Rising H-2A demand is also a direct reflection of the U.S. labor force.

While the labor force has grown by nearly 12 million people over the past 10 years, participation rates have steadily declined since the early 2000s. At the same time, unemployment remains low at 4.4% in September 2025, which is below the rate seen pre-pandemic at 3.5% and lower than the 5% unemployment rate a decade ago.

“As domestic labor shortages persist and few Americans seek seasonal farm work, farmers and ranchers continue to rely on alternative labor to maintain a reliable food supply,” said Jay Bragg, Texas Farm Bureau associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities. “While research and development is being done on advanced mechanization and robotics, those technologies are still a long way from reality, making guestworker programs essential.”

Nearly half of all H-2A certifications in 2025 were in five states: Florida, Georgia, California, Washington and North Carolina.

Florida led the nation, accounting for more than 14% of all certifications and adding over 9,000 workers from the previous year, despite a 10% increase in the state’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR).

However, the other four leading states decreased in certifications, with California certifying over 2,000 fewer workers in 2025 than in 2024, marking its third straight year of decline in H-2A use.

Outside of these states, growth was widespread. Thirty-eight states increased in their demand for H-2A workers, including Michigan, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico and New York. Declines were largely limited to parts of the Southeast and the West Coast.

The H-2A program requires employers to prove no domestic workers desire the job, and the data continues to support that claim. In 2025, only 182 of more than 415,000 advertised positions received a domestic applicant.

Low unemployment, declining labor force participation and limited interest in farm work continue to restrict the domestic labor supply.

Regulatory changes in recent years have increased the number of applications farmers and ranchers must submit. Rules such as the 2023 disaggregation requirement, which was vacated in August 2025, required wages to be based on individual job duties rather than the full contract. This encouraged employers to split work into separate positions, reducing the average number of positions per application from 23 in 2018 to 19 in 2024 and 2025.

The H-2A program remains the primary option for meeting seasonal agricultural labor needs. However, it does not meet all of agriculture’s needs.

“Nonseasonal industries such as greenhouses, dairy, livestock and poultry are largely excluded, and only about 80% of certified positions receive visas. That limits farmers’ ability to fully staff operations during peak seasons,” Bragg said.

Cost remains another major challenge as unpredictable wage increases, application fees and required nonwage benefits have made participating difficult for many farmers and ranchers.

“TFB has advocated for decades for changes to the H-2A program that will reduce costs, decrease unnecessary regulatory burdens, streamline the application process and grant better accessibility for all of agriculture,” Bragg said.

Recent changes to the AEWR methodology aim to slow wage growth and better account for nonwage costs, according to AFBF. Combined with added flexibility in contracts and job duties, these updates could make the program more accessible and support its continued growth.

“We are excited to see these changes and are continuing to work with the Department of Labor and Congress to find ways to improve the program,” Bragg said.