H2A Program Continues to Grow and Food Spending Outpaces Food Prices
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**The H-2A program continues to grow, allowing eligible U.S. employers a way to hire foreign workers to fill seasonal and temporary agricultural jobs.
In 2024, more than 380,000 workers were authorized under this program, a 300% increase from 2010.
H-2A workers now account for 15% of employment on U.S. crop farms.
Most authorized H-2A workers are concentrated in Florida, Georgia, California, and Washington, states with labor-intensive crops like fruits and vegetables.
www.agrimarketing.com/s/154242
**As the cost of spraying crops with pesticides gets more expensive across the European Union, farmers in countries like Greece are finding cheaper alternatives in unlabeled bottles smuggled into the country.
A dozen farmers anonymously told Reuters, the products are more effective than what they regularly use, but they’re also potentially more harmful.
Lab tests show the pesticides were banned in the EU due to risks to humans and the environment.
**USDA says per capita total U.S. food spending increased 3.2% from 2023 to 2024, outpacing the 2.3% increase in food prices during the same period, showing a stronger demand for food despite higher prices.
However, national trends in sales mask uneven growth across multiple U.S. states.
Three states, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Kansas, showed a decrease in per capita food sales, driven by a 6.6% increase in sales at grocery stores.
