H-2A program doubles in size from 2010 to 2019

The H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers Program more than doubled in size in less than ten years, and fruit, vegetable and nut growers were a big reason for the growth.

The H-2A program allows agricultural employers in the U.S. to bring in foreign farmworkers to fill seasonal labor contracts lasting less than a year.

A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service said that, between 2010 and 2019, H-2A positions certified by the U.S. Department of Labor increased more than 220%.

“All agricultural product categories experienced significant growth in H-2A employment, but the increase was most pronounced in product categories with high labor requirements and seasonal employment, such as fruit and tree nuts and vegetables and melons,” the report said.

The number of firms requesting H-2A workers increased 95% from 2010 to 2019, the report said, from about 5,200 to 10,100 firms.

A growing share of H-2A certifications is going to farm labor contractors, according to the report. That is possibly because contractors are finding it more difficult to recruit domestically, prompting them to turn their recruitment efforts abroad. “In addition, individual agribusinesses may be finding it difficult to hire locally and thus, more often, turn to FLCs to navigate the H-2A application and recruitment process rather than doing it themselves,” the report said.

In 2019, DOL certified 258,000 individual H-2A positions, compared with 79,000 in 2010. 
All product categories experienced growth in the number of firms making a request, with fruit and tree nuts and vegetables and melon producers increasing the most — 200% and 191%, respectively. 

By firm type, the number of FLC worksites requesting H-2A workers increased the most — around 780% between 2010 and 2019. 
By comparison, the report said the number of individual employers requesting H-2A workers increased by around 121%. The number of farms requesting H-2A workers jointly with a growers’ associations peaked mid-decade, then dropped by roughly 40%.

The report said the number of H-2A positions certified in the vegetables and melons category grew from about 20,600 in 2010 to 88,900 in 2019 — an increase of 330%. At the same time, the number of certifications in the fruit and tree nuts category increased nearly 400%, from about 18,100 to 85,800.

Individual employers and FLCs are the dominant H-2A employer type in the vegetables and melons category, together accounting for virtually all the positions certified in 2019. FLCs accounted for 53% of positions certified in vegetables and melons that year. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of certifications for FLCs in this product category increased 870%, according to the report.