Talk to any farmer, and they'll tell you it's hard work.
“It's a 24-hour job,” New York dairy farmer Nate Chittenden told CBS News. “So I need people who are willing to work shifts at different times of the day.”
But Chittenden says finding those workers is difficult.
All this as American farms are on the decline. There was a 7% decline in farms from 2017 to 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to about 142,000 fewer farms in just five years.
Farmers face many challenges in running their businesses, including Climate change, bird flu Outbreaks and high costs for feed and fertilizer. Now, many of America's farmers must face the prospect of the Trump administration uprooting a large portion of the workforce with its threat to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
“It's a lot of hands-on crops and vegetables,” said New Jersey farmer Kurt Alstead.
More than two-thirds of American crop workers are foreign-born, according to USDAMany of them came to the country through H-2A visas, but officials estimate that 42% of the workers are undocumented immigrants.
Since his first day in office, President Trump has already issued executive functions sleep To begin reshaping federal immigration and border policies. Expect to encounter many of them significant legal challengesBut the administration has created fear and uncertainty in the community.
The United Farm Workers, a labor union, says there has already been an influx of migrants asking for help.
“The dangers are scary, but at the same time, farm workers, more than anyone, understand the reality that without them, this job isn't going to get done,” said Antonio De Loera, UFW communications director.
Alstead told CBS News that once his workers are legally authorized, he is watching Mr. Trump closely to see what his administration will do next.
“Anything that happens from a policy standpoint that reduces people in our workforce is very difficult for the industry and certainly for agriculture,” Alstead said. “If we lost the workforce we would be in big trouble.”
According to University of Montana economist Dianne Charlton, fewer workers could mean less homegrown production.
“Because we're already importing so much of these foods, consumers may not really see a big impact in grocery stores, but domestically grown fruits and vegetables will be reduced,” Charlton said. “
It's still unclear how Trump's mass deportation plan will affect farm workers. CBS News reached out to the White House for comment, and it reiterated the president's commitment to “deporting immigrant criminals.”
