Items Tagged with 'labor costs'

As the costs of technologies go down and labor costs go up, farmers in all segments of agriculture see mechanization and artificial intelligence as opportunities to stay ahead. But numerous technological, regulatory and cost challenges will have to be overcome first.

As farmers and companies in the food and ag sector struggle to find workers, many have increasingly turned to recruiting foreign workers through visa programs, including H-2A. Demand for H-2A workers, who can take seasonal jobs on crop or livestock operations, has been skyrocketing. Meanwhile, others in the sector are trying to use smaller visa programs, such as H-2B or J-1.

As California agriculture transitions to mechanization to reduce labor costs, the healthcare industry may hold some lessons, said the CDFA secretary.

Ag economists look back on the many obstacles California agriculture has overcome to forecast where the industry is headed.