January 2026 Insights

The United States Agriculture and Farming industry is currently experiencing a historic divergence between a tightening labor market for on-farm operations and a significant contraction within the federal and corporate oversight sectors. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the total employment level in agriculture and related industries stood at approximately 2.33 million persons in December 2025, maintaining a steady but precarious presence in the national economy (FRED via U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment Level - Agriculture and Related Industries"). While the official unemployment rate for farming, fishing, and forestry occupations was recorded at 4.4 percent in late 2025, this figure masks a profound domestic labor shortage; the American Farm Bureau Federation reports that the H-2A visa program grew to certify nearly 400,000 positions in fiscal year 2025, yet less than 0.04 percent of those advertised roles received applications from domestic workers (American Farm Bureau Federation, "H-2A Program Use Continues to Soar"). This reliance on foreign labor is compounded by the fact that many manual roles in crop and animal production are projected to decline over the next decade, while technical roles in agricultural support and machinery operation are seeing much faster than average growth (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations").

Economically, the industry is grappling with the dual pressures of soaring land values and a depleted federal support system. The ratio of cropland price to cash rent has nearly doubled in recent years, reaching a point where average land values are estimated at over $5,800 per acre, which strains the financial viability of independent and mid-sized producers (USDA via Successful Farming, "The Dramatic Change in U.S. Ag Land Price-Rent Ratio"). Perhaps more disruptive has been the sudden contraction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) workforce, which lost over 20,000 employees in 2025, a decline of nearly 15 percent, due to large-scale voluntary resignation programs and budget-driven restructuring (USDA OIG via Agriculture of America, "USDA Workforce Fell by More Than 20,000 Employees in 2025"). This reduction has led to significant delays in loan processing, disaster assistance, and technical site visits, forcing the remaining workforce to manage a massive backlog of essential services while the agency attempts a controversial relocation of its primary workforce away from the capital.

Worker sentiment shared on social media platforms over the last 45 days reveals a workforce at a breaking point, characterized by extreme physical exhaustion and a sense of systemic neglect. Discussions among field workers and migrant laborers frequently highlight the "devastating" impact of wage cuts and the increasing danger of heat-related illness during shortened, high-intensity harvest seasons. There is a pervasive feeling of isolation and a "fear of rejection" stemming from political tensions that many workers feel have trickled down from management to the fields. In the corporate ag-tech and administrative sectors, sentiment is similarly grim but for different reasons; workers express profound frustration with the gutting of institutional knowledge at the USDA and the resulting "cascading failures" in program delivery, which they feel has left farmers and their support staff more vulnerable to economic shocks than ever before.

The job market within the industry is further complicated by the rise of "ghost jobs," which are particularly prevalent in the government and agricultural technology sectors. Industry analysts estimate that roughly 30 percent of job postings in these segments may be "phantom listings" that companies keep active to project an image of growth or to collect a pipeline of resumes without a real intention to hire (WorldatWork, "Dangling a Carrot That Doesn't Exist: The 'Ghost Job' Economy"). This practice has created a cycle of burnout for job seekers who invest hours into specialized applications only to find the roles never materialize. Management treatment of employees is described by workers as increasingly transactional and high-pressure; upper management in corporate ag is often viewed as being out of touch with field realities, while middle managers are tasked with enforcing return-to-office mandates for roles that were successfully performed remotely during the pandemic. In contrast, on-farm management is struggling with "management by crisis," as the lack of consistent labor forces owners to pass their financial and operational stress directly down to their remaining staff.

To survive and thrive in this environment, employees are increasingly pivoting toward technical specialization and "precision agriculture" consultancy. Successful workers are moving away from general manual labor or broad administrative roles and instead obtaining certifications as Certified Crop Advisers (CCA) or Precision Agriculture Technicians, focusing on the data-driven optimization of crop yields through drone technology and automated irrigation systems. Others are finding success by leveraging their deep regulatory knowledge, gained through years of government service or compliance work, to launch independent consultancies that help farmers navigate the now-delayed federal loan and conservation grant processes. This "expert-for-hire" model has proven highly successful for those who can bridge the gap between complex federal requirements and the immediate needs of a farm, providing a degree of career stability and flexibility that traditional corporate or government roles currently lack.

2025 Year-End Insights

The workforce within the United States agriculture and farming industries is experiencing a profound transition driven by technology and persistent labor market challenges. Employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that while the overall number of hired farm workers has declined substantially over the long term, wage and salary employment in the broader agriculture sector, including support services, has shown a gradual increase since 2010, rising by ten percent to approximately 1.18 million jobs in 2024 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via USDA Economic Research Service, "Employment in U.S. agriculture grew 10 percent between 2010 and 2024"). This growth is concentrated in areas like crop-support services and the livestock sector, reflecting a specialization trend. The demographic profile of the workforce shows an increasing average age for foreign-born farm workers, while wages for non-supervisory occupations have seen modest increases, although the sector continues to rely heavily on the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program to address critical labor shortages (U.S. Department of Labor via USDA Economic Research Service, "Farm Labor").

Economic indicators from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) highlight the significant role of federal support and trade in stabilizing the sector. Net farm income has shown volatility, but forecasts indicate expected increases, driven by rising gross cash farm income, which includes government farm program payments (USDA Economic Research Service via FRED, "Net farm income, USDA"). This income stability is crucial, as the industry faces pressures from rising input costs, particularly for machinery, chemicals, and labor, which have been tracked through various Producer Price Indices. The increasing adoption of advanced machinery and precision agriculture technologies, as measured by private fixed investment in agricultural machinery, reflects the industry's investment in automation as a direct response to labor scarcity and the need to maximize efficiency on both existing and slowly declining numbers of total farms (U.S. Census Bureau via FRED, "Total Revenue for Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services"; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED, "Producer Price Index by Industry: Advertising Agencies").

Worker sentiment gathered from social media platforms over the last 45 days centers heavily on the growing technological gap and economic uncertainty. While some younger farmers and industry professionals express excitement about the integration of precision agriculture, robotics, and AI for better resource management, a pervasive concern exists about the accessibility of this technology, especially for smaller and medium-sized operations who face cost barriers. Many discussions reveal that the industry’s greatest challenge is not the future of farming, but the future of the farm worker, with prevailing anxiety over wages, working conditions, and the dependency on temporary foreign labor. A prominent trend sees farmers actively using social media platforms to bridge the knowledge divide between farm and consumer, seeking to gain economic advantage through direct-to-consumer sales, but the core workforce struggle remains focused on securing a stable, skilled labor force to meet the demands of a high-tech, yet weather-dependent and highly capitalized, industry.

The exploration of new opportunities by workers in the agriculture and farming industry is primarily driven by the need for greater stability, better wages, and the pursuit of careers that leverage their highly transferable, yet often undervalued, skill sets. A key and highly successful strategy is the effective repackaging and marketing of existing practical competencies as valuable business and technical skills for employers both within and outside the traditional farm gate. The deep, firsthand experience with mechanics, machinery maintenance, and diagnostics gained by operating complex farm equipment, for instance, is being successfully translated into technician and equipment maintenance roles across various manufacturing, heavy logistics, and construction industries (Oklahoma State University Extension, "Farmers in Transition: Finding a New Career"). This involves quantifying accomplishments, such as noting how a worker reduced equipment downtime or managed complex logistics for seasonal harvest, rather than simply listing tasks.

Within the industry itself, workers are exploring new career pathways by focusing on the rapid growth of agricultural technology and support services. Success is found in transitioning from being a field hand to becoming an Agricultural Equipment Operator, a role that requires specific certification and a higher wage, or moving into the burgeoning crop-support services sector, which is seeing significant employment growth (USDA Economic Research Service, "Farm Labor"). This internal mobility is often facilitated by targeted training programs offered through local extension offices and community colleges, which help workers acquire the skills needed for precision agriculture, drone operation, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis. Workers who invest in digital and technical proficiency are successfully moving into supervisory, management, and technical consultant roles within agribusinesses and related fields like environmental science and forestry (AgCareers.com, "CAPITALS - The 8 Transferable Skills for Agriculture Careers").

Furthermore, many workers who possess significant soft skills, such as leadership, resilience, time management, and problem-solving (developed daily through managing unpredictable farm operations), are successfully pivoting to service-based and white-collar roles. Financial and business acumen, gained from managing budgets, inventory, and negotiating sales, is proving highly transferable to positions like agricultural loan officers, financial analysts, and sales representatives within the broader food and agriculture value chain (Berea College, "Choosing a Career in Agriculture: Benefits, Tips and Career Paths"). Sentiment shared on social media platforms confirms this focus on transferable skills, with many successfully transitioning by highlighting their organizational and logistical expertise to non-farm employers, emphasizing that anyone who can manage a harvest can manage a complex project. Finally, engagement with specific organizations like the USDA and agricultural recruitment services, which actively map farm skills to non-farm careers, has proven to be a highly successful external strategy for accessing new opportunities.

Q4 2025 Insights

The workforce dedicated to animal welfare, encompassing veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and animal shelter staff, operates in a constant state of paradox where high job satisfaction exists alongside pervasive burnout and compassion fatigue. Professionals in this field report that the intrinsic value and meaningful purpose of the work, the very core of their mission, are the primary sources of their satisfaction, providing a significant counterbalance to the daily strain. However, this passionate dedication also makes them highly vulnerable. Reports consistently show that burnout rates in veterinary care, for example, are significantly higher than in the general population, with a major contributor being emotional exhaustion and cynicism. The major, stubborn stressors include heavy caseloads, chronic under-staffing leading to overwork, and difficult interactions with clients, particularly concerning cost-of-care decisions and the emotional toll of frequent euthanasia. This has made the pursuit of a healthy work-life balance a top industry priority, driving trends toward more competitive wages, better benefits, and flexible scheduling options, including a growing demand for relief and part-time roles to manage the ongoing workforce shortage. For many, career survival means seeking employers who actively invest in mental health resources and wellness programs, and there is a modest but noticeable trend of workers exploring opportunities outside the traditional veterinary profession altogether, including academic roles and/or research-related roles.

In the plant welfare and horticulture industry, the workforce struggles are fundamentally rooted in economic precariousness and the high cost of doing passionate work. Sentiment on social media frequently reveals a deeply frustrating reality: people who genuinely "live and breathe plants" often find themselves trapped in a cycle of low wages, minimal benefits, and seasonal instability. Many highly educated horticulturists, even those with Bachelor's or Master's degrees, lament that their earnings barely top out above $45,000 to $60,000 annually, a wage they feel is a poor return for their expertise and the demanding physical nature of the job. Anecdotal reports emphasize the toll of long hours working outdoors in extreme heat, cold, and rain, which contributes to repetitive use injuries and a feeling of being underappreciated. Workers frequently express bitterness over nepotism in family-owned businesses and a significant lack of career progression, where promotions are often reserved for family members rather than skilled staff. The main survival trend for those who remain is to either start their own high-end niche businesses, such as fine gardening or specialized native plant nurseries, where they can control hours and compensation, or to pivot to adjacent fields with better job security and pay, like landscape architecture, ecological restoration, or government positions in parks and recreation. The pervasive sentiment is that unless one is willing to endure "slave wages" because the passion for plants outweighs the need for money, one should consider other science or environmental fields that offer more reliable financial footing.

August 2025

Young farm workers in agriculture can expect to work 12-15 hours per day, all while struggling with anxiety, depression, and worries about crop yields due to weather, crops diseases, and subsidies and finances not coming through as expected. Entire farms, as a work place, often feel isolated, with problems seeming idiosyncratic and not always easy to seek help from counterparts to address.

Farm workers express that farming is a "commodity industry," where it's difficult to make a decent living without inheriting land or equipment. The sentiment is that while the work is a "labor of love," it's often a struggle for survival, with little financial reward trickling down from large food corporations to small farms.

The labor shortage in the agricultural sector remains a critical and intensifying issue. The industry faces an estimated need for an additional 2.4 million farm workers in 2025. This shortage is primarily driven by an aging workforce, a lack of interest from younger generations, and the increasing costs and complexity of temporary foreign worker programs like the H-2A visa. Rising labor costs are squeezing farmers' profitability, with some specialty crop growers seeing labor expenses reach nearly 40% of their total costs.