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Coping with Delayed H-2A Worker Arrivals during the Pandemic

Author

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  • Escalante, Cesar L.
  • Cowart, Watson L.
  • Shonkwiler, Vanessa P.

Abstract

Agricultural demand remains essential under all economic conditions. The recent pandemic is a case in point when the farm sector’s real concern was not declining market demand but rather supply chain disruptions, such as the constrained mobility and availability of needed foreign contractual workers. Enforced border entry restrictions and strict screening procedures disrupted the flow of arrivals of foreign workers with approved H-2A visas. A survey was conducted among southeastern U.S. farms with approved H-2A petitions to verify if there were any H-2A labor supply disruptions during the pandemic. Results indicate that more than half of H-2A workers arrived 3 to 5 weeks later than expected. Popular farmers’ coping strategies include maximizing family labor contributions, reducing off-farm employment hours, and resorting to less labor-intensive production alternatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Escalante, Cesar L. & Cowart, Watson L. & Shonkwiler, Vanessa P., 2023. "Coping with Delayed H-2A Worker Arrivals during the Pandemic," Journal of the ASFMRA, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, vol. 2023, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:jasfmr:342889
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.342889
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Escalante, Cesar L. & Luo, Tianyuan & Taylor, Carmina E., 2020. "The Availability of H-2A Guest Farm Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 35(3), September.
    2. Escalante, Cesar L. & Kostandini, Genti & Mykerezi, Elton, 2014. "The Decentralization of Immigration Enforcement and Implications for Agriculture," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 29(1), pages 1-6.
    3. Calvin, Linda & Martin, Philip, 2010. "The U.S. Produce Industry and Labor: Facing the Future in a Global Economy," Economic Research Report 262245, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Castillo, Marcelo & Simnitt, Skyler & Astill, Gregory & Minor, Travis, 2021. "Examining the Growth in Seasonal Agricultural H-2A Labor," Economic Information Bulletin 327365, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Castillo, Marcelo & Simnitt, Skyler & Astill, Gregory & Minor, Travis, 2021. "Examining the Growth in Seasonal Agricultural H-2A Labor," USDA Miscellaneous 313476, United States Department of Agriculture.
    6. Escalante, Cesar L. & Perkins, Samuel L. & Santos, Florence Ivy M., 2011. "When the Seasonal Foreign Farm Workers are Gone," Journal of the ASFMRA, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, vol. 2011, pages 1-13, June.
    7. Tianyuan Luo & Cesar L Escalante, 2017. "US farm workers: What drives their job retention and work time allocation decisions?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 28(2), pages 270-293, June.
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