Justin Fox, Columnist

A ‘100% American’ Farm Workforce? That’s Delusional

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently set a goal. But foreign workers are a lot more eager to harvest US crops than citizens.

July 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM UTC

By Justin Fox

Justin Fox is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business, economics and other topics involving charts. A former editorial director of the Harvard Business Review, he is author of “The Myth of the Rational Market.”

Who will carry the load?
Photographer: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images

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Want a job picking fruit? There are thousands available right now on the US Department of Labor’s Seasonal Jobs website. Orchard work paying $19.82 an hour in Washington, $17.96 in Pennsylvania and $15.87 in West Virginia. Berry planting and picking jobs at $19.97 an hour in California, $16.23 in Florida and $16.08 in Georgia.

Employers have to offer these jobs to US workers before bringing in foreigners on H-2A visas for temporary agricultural work. The sharp rise in H-2A issuance the past decade indicates that they haven’t been getting many takers.