farmworkers

Politics & Government

As these farmworkers' children seek a different future, who will pick the crops?

5:00am July 28, 2023

U.S. farms have faced worker shortages for years. Now compounding the problem: The children of farmworkers are leaving the fields, forcing farm owners to look to other countries for labor.

A worker harvests cherries in the early hours of the morning on a farm near Sunnyside, Wash., on June 14.

Politics & Government

America's farms are desperate for labor. Foreign workers bring relief and controversy

5:28am July 27, 2023

The number of H-2A visas for seasonal farmworkers issued each year has more than quadrupled over the past decade. The growth has alarmed labor advocates. Farmers don't love the program, either.

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Jose Martinez was 14 when he came to the U.S. from Mexico to work in agriculture. He became an activist after years of enduring tough working conditions.

They put food on our tables but live in the shadows. This man is fighting to be seen

1:29pm July 26, 2023

Jose Martinez has picked America's food for decades. With all that experience on different farms, he saw workers lacking labor protections. Now he works to give farmworkers more rights.

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Farm laborers working with an H-2A visa harvest romaine lettuce on a machine with heavy plastic dividers that separate workers from each other on April 27, 2020, in Greenfield, Calif.

Farmworkers brace for more time in the shadows after latest effort fails in Congress

11:48am December 28, 2022

by Ximena Bustillo

A legalization path for farmworkers failed to pass this month and faces an even steeper climb in a Republican-controlled House in the next Congress.

Health & Safety

State leaders discuss health care access for farmworkers ahead of National Rural Health Day

3:52pm November 17, 2021

by April Laissle

Ninety percent of North Carolina's farmworkers are uninsured. The same percentage isn't comfortable speaking English.

Before conducting the nasal swab test for COVID-19 at the Rantoul, Ill., clinic, researchers go out to greet each visitor and ask for basic identification and health information.

To Help Farmworkers Get COVID-19 Tests And Vaccine, Build Trust And A Safety Net

5:31am March 01, 2021

Getting COVID-19 tests and vaccine to essential workers on commercial farms and in meatpacking plants requires more than a pop-up clinic miles away. A positive test can be financially devastating.

Before massive wildfires broke out in California, farmworkers already had to take extra precautions for COVID-19. Now they must worry about dangerous air from wildfires. In this photo, farmworkers arrive early in the morning to begin harvesting on April 2

Wildfires Make Dangerous Air For Farmworkers: 'It's Like You Can't Breathe'

10:38am September 15, 2020

by James Doubek

As fires ravage California, farmworkers are dealing with dangerous air in incredible heat. Hernan Hernandez of the California Farmworker Foundation says there's "nowhere near" enough protective gear.

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Fresh asparagus has been gathered in Bottrop, Germany, in mid-April. Farms across Europe are facing a labor shortage as a result of closed borders because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Germany Struggles To Fill Its Farm Labor Shortage After Closing Its Borders

11:58am May 20, 2020

by Rob Schmitz

The government flew in thousands of seasonal workers from Romania and Poland, but that may not be enough. Some farmers are looking to hire Germans for the harvest.

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A Senegalese migrant collects oranges on the plain of Rosarno and San Ferdinando in Calabria, Italy, on Feb. 6. The lockdown countries imposed to stop the coronavirus pandemic have cut off the usual flow of seasonal farmworkers.

Italy Considers Permits For Undocumented Migrants To Fill A Big Farmworker Gap

12:01pm April 29, 2020

by Sylvia Poggioli

The country faces a shortfall of up to 350,000 laborers just when it is bracing for deep economic impacts from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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Farmworkers pick organic strawberries at Stehly Farms Organics in Valley Center, Calif., on March 25.

'Essential' Status Means Jobs For Farmworkers, But Greater Virus Risk

2:37pm March 27, 2020

by Dan Charles

Farmworkers are still working during the coronavirus epidemic. They're essential. But they're also at greater risk of infection.