The apple and blueberry industries have welcomed proposed changes to the H-2A wage system for foreign workers.
"In less than three years, grower prices for apples have fallen 28%, while labor costs over that time have risen 9%, and 60% over the last decade," said Jim Bair, president and CEO of USApple. "The economic strain of that picture is seen in the thousands of growers that are just barely hanging on to their farms, many of which have been passed down through generations," he added, in a news release.
Relying on the Farm Labor Survey survey resulted in artificially high wage rates, according to the North American Blueberry Council. Between 2021 and 2025, blueberry-producing states saw an average 25% increase in wage rates under the Farm Labor Survey-based AEWR, leaving many operations on razor-thin margins. Studies showed that labor — accounting for more than 40% of production costs — pushed the average blueberry grower to breakeven and forced growers to rely on machine harvesting to remain viable.
In a news release, the North American Blueberry Council hailed the proposed H-2A changes as critical reforms for growers. "Fair, predictable wages and a more efficient H-2A process provide the stability farmers need to plan, reinvest and sustain their operations," the news release stated.
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