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Nearly Half of Fruit and Veg Growers Can't Find Enough Workers. Why Visitor-Based Income Needs Fewer Hands

1 day ago
21 min read
Farm labor shortage: an orchard with empty crates and an idle ladder on one side and families picking apples at a farm stand on the other

In July 2025, Oregon cherry grower Ian Chandler started harvest with about half of his usual 120 workers. Tons of ripe fruit stayed on the trees. His forecast: "What you're going to see is a bunch of fat, happy raccoons this winter."


That is the farm labor shortage in one picture. It also points to the fix. When your income comes from visitors, through pick-your-own, choose-and-cut, self-serve stands, farm tours and farm stays, customers do much of the work themselves. With pick-your-own, the customer does the picking. And the customer pays you retail for it.


You still need some people. Just fewer of them, doing different jobs.


The short answer: In recent surveys, about half of the fruit and vegetable growers asked said they were short of workers. Hand-harvested wholesale crops need big harvest crews and pay you wholesale prices. Visitor-based income needs fewer hands because the customer does the harvest work and pays retail. It is not zero labour, though. Plan for a greeter, a cashier and someone to clean up, and design everything else to run itself.


Wooden ladder leaning against an apple tree in an orchard, a reminder of the farm labor shortage at harvest time
Illustrative photo, not Ian Chandler's orchard. Photo: Koy Gregerson on Unsplash.

What Happened in The Dalles


Chandler grows cherries in Wasco County, Oregon. KPTV reported that he started the 2025 harvest with about half of his 120-person workforce, and expected to leave 300 to 400 tons of fruit on the trees. "If we don't have labor, we're pretty much dead in the water."


CNN reported that the lost harvest hit almost a quarter of his 125 acres. Chandler put the damage at $250,000 to $300,000 in revenue. No bad weather. No disease. Just nobody to pick.


Here's the follow-up. In September 2026, OPB reported that Oregon cherry growers had enough workers this time. But the price was only a few cents above what it cost to produce the fruit. Looking back at 2025, Chandler, who also chairs the Oregon Sweet Cherry Commission, said, "Last year we were really in the red."


So the wholesale grower got hit twice. One year there weren't enough hands. The next year there was almost no margin. The same squeeze can hit any wholesale grower, whether you grow cherries in Oregon, strawberries in Kent or apples in Ontario.


How Bad Is the Farm Labor Shortage? The Numbers in the US, Canada and the UK


United States: about half of growers surveyed are short


The newest survey comes from Fruit Growers News. In 2026 it asked nearly 200 specialty crop growers across the US and Canada about the 2025 season.


About 48% reported slight or significant labour shortages. To cope, 39% did more of the work themselves and 29% cut acreage. And 21% said they lost 11% to 20% of their crops because of labour constraints.


Michigan State University economist Zachariah Rutledge has surveyed around 2,500 farmers over five years, many in California. DTN reported that about half couldn't hire all the workers they needed. Those farms ran about 20% short on labour, on average.


Notice who these surveys cover: specialty crop growers and farm employers, many of them fruit and vegetable growers. A corn and soybean farm is a different story. But if you grow anything picked by hand, you're in the half that hurts.


The 2025 drop, and what it does and doesn't mean


Government household-survey data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed farm and related employment fell sharply in spring 2025.


Economists Robert Lynch, Michael Ettlinger and Emma Sifre put the drop at 155,000 people (6.5%) between March and July 2025. The same BLS series, as published today, shows about 133,000 (5.7%). Either way, about 6% fewer people were working in agriculture and related industries after four months, as immigration enforcement stepped up. (The series also counts forestry, fishing, hunting and self-employed farmers.)


Line chart of US farm employment from January 2024 to September 2026 showing the farm labor shortage drop of about 133,000 people between March and July 2025
US farm employment, monthly. The spring 2025 drop is highlighted. Source: BLS Current Population Survey via FRED.

Be careful with this number. The monthly series is noisy, and it has since recovered on paper. By September 2026 it stood at 2.596 million, higher than before the drop.


So why do growers still report shortages? Because a national headcount doesn't put a picker in your field on the day your berries are ripe.


One more trap: the USDA's own Farm Labor Survey, which you may still see quoted, was discontinued in August 2025. Its last report came out in May 2025.


Fear is costing workers, too


A Michigan State University and California Farm Bureau survey of more than 500 California farmers, reported in February 2026, found:


  • Fewer than 1% lost workers directly to immigration enforcement.

  • About 15% lost workers because of fear of enforcement.

  • About 14% cut production by planting less or losing crops they couldn't harvest.


In New Jersey, blueberry grower Brandon Raso would ideally hire 600 harvest workers. In 2025, Harvest Public Media reported, he could fill only about a third of those jobs. He said that the year before, about 2.5 million pounds of blueberries fell to the ground because they couldn't be harvested, a loss he estimated at $5 million.


Canada: a farm labour shortage that's forecast to grow


The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) estimated that more than 28,200 farm jobs went unfilled at peak season in 2022. That cost an estimated C$3.5 billion in lost sales, a 3.7% drop.


Its forecast is worse. CAHRC projects the domestic peak-season labour gap will grow from 87,700 in 2023 to 101,100 by 2030, with more than 85,300 workers expected to retire over eight years. These are forecasts, not counts.


Statistics Canada counted 280,991 farm employees in 2024. Almost half (48.6%) were seasonal. Temporary foreign workers fell 6.2% to 74,789. Employment on fruit and tree nut farms fell 9%.


In 2020, Quebec strawberry growers had about half their usual migrant workers. Rougemont grower Philippe Beauregard responded by moving toward u-pick and inviting customers to pick on site.


United Kingdom: a farm labour shortage with fewer visas


The UK Seasonal Worker visa route opened in 2019 with 2,500 places. It rose to 47,000 in 2024. Then it started falling: 45,000 in 2025, and 42,900 (41,000 horticulture plus 1,900 poultry) for both 2026 and 2027.


Bar chart of the UK seasonal worker visa quota falling from 47,000 in 2024 to 42,900 in 2026 and 2027, a driver of the farm labour shortage
UK Seasonal Worker visa quota, 2024 to 2027. Sources: Home Office, GOV.UK, Farmers Weekly.

Defra counted 33,591 casual workers on farms in England on 1 June 2026. That's down 3.9% in a year and about 19.5% since 2022.


Labour providers told the government's independent review that they got about 6 candidates per role in 2012. By 2023 it was around 1.6.


The farm labour shortage shows up in the field. In the NFU's 2022 survey of 199 growers in England and Wales, 40% reported crop losses from labour shortages. The NFU found £22 million of fruit and veg had been wasted directly because of workforce shortages in the first half of 2022 alone.


Country

Key number

What it tells you

United States

About 48% of specialty crop growers surveyed short of workers (2025 season)

Shortages hit about half of hand-harvest growers

United States

About 133,000 to 155,000 fewer people employed in agriculture and related industries (about 6%), March to July 2025

Labour can drop sharply in a few months, right before harvest

Canada

28,200 jobs unfilled at peak in 2022; C$3.5 billion in lost sales

Unfilled jobs show up directly as lost sales

Canada

Labour gap forecast to reach 101,100 by 2030

The sector's own forecast says it gets harder

United Kingdom

Seasonal Worker visas cut from 47,000 (2024) to 42,900 (2026 and 2027)

Fewer visa places for pickers than in 2024

United Kingdom

Casual farm workers in England down about 19.5% since 2022

The local pool is shrinking too


Why the Farm Labor Shortage Won't Fix Itself


H-2A keeps growing, and keeps getting more tangled


Over two decades, US farms have leaned far harder on the H-2A guest worker program. Certified positions rose from 48,336 in FY2005 to 398,258 in FY2025, more than eight times as many.


Bar chart of H-2A positions certified rising from 48,336 in FY2005 to 398,258 in FY2025 as the farm labor shortage deepened
H-2A positions certified by fiscal year. Sources: USDA ERS and US Department of Labor.

Why not just hire locally? The American Farm Bureau found that in FY2025, only 182 of more than 415,000 advertised H-2A positions drew even one domestic applicant. That's about 0.04%, or fewer than 1 in 2,000.


Now the cost. H-2A workers must be paid at least the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). The Department of Labor changed its method in October 2025. For 2026–27, the simple national averages are $12.31 an hour for Skill Level I and $16.07 for Skill Level II. Level II ranges from $13.41 in Florida to $19.22 in Nebraska.


But don't build a budget on those H-2A wage rates for 2026. In August 2026, a federal court ruled parts of the new method arbitrary and capricious. The court has since ordered the Department of Labor to issue a new rule by 30 December 2026. Nobody knows yet what the floor will be.


And the wage is only part of the bill. You also pay for housing and transport. Growers told Harvest Public Media the total can run as high as $31 an hour. That's their claim, not an official figure.


The US Apple Association says H-2A-related costs now take 60% to 70% of the average wholesale price growers get per box of apples. In 2013, labour was closer to 40%.


Farmers are getting older


The 2022 US Census of Agriculture put the average age of farm producers at 58.1 years. 38% were 65 or older. Only 9% were under 35.


When you can no longer do the heavy work yourself, a shortage of hired hands hits harder.


The UK and Canada are tightening, not loosening


The UK has set its seasonal visa quota below the 2024 level for 2025, 2026 and 2027. Canada's labour council forecasts the gap widening to 2030.


Policy can change. But a farm that only works if the government sends enough pickers is a business someone else controls.


Reality Check: Prices may not rescue you either. Oregon's cherry growers had enough workers in 2026, yet OPB reported the price was only a few cents above the cost of production. A full crew doesn't fix a wholesale price you don't set.


Why Wholesale Crops Eat So Much Labour


Labour is a cost problem long before it's a shortage problem.


The USDA's Economic Research Service found that in 2024, labour was about 15% of cash expenses across all US farms. On specialty crop farms it was about 40 cents of every dollar.


The harvest is where most of that money goes.


Bar chart of harvest labour as a share of total cost per acre: strawberries 54 percent including packing, pumpkins 30 percent, apples 7 percent
Harvest labour as a share of total cost per acre, by crop. Sources: UC Davis, University of Kentucky, Washington State University.

Strawberries. A 2026 UC Davis analysis of University of California cost studies found harvest and packing labour make up about 54% of the total farm cost of conventional strawberries, and about 47% for organic. Harvest labour alone is about 75% of total harvest costs.


Pumpkins. A University of Kentucky budget for fresh-market pumpkins counts about 116 labour hours per acre. 86 of those hours, about three-quarters, go to harvesting, handling and hauling. That budget prices pumpkins at wholesale market prices. We ran the wholesale-vs-patch numbers in How to Start a Pumpkin Patch.


Apples. In a Washington State University budget for a Granny Smith orchard, picking costs $37 a bin, roughly 7% of total cost. Apples are less harvest-heavy. But as the USApple figures show, guest-worker costs now eat a huge share of the wholesale price.


At Sand Hutton near York, Ronda Morritt said a member of staff could cost 80p per punnet of raspberries. The wholesaler might pay as little as 90p. That can leave as little as 10p for everything else.


In Texas, grower Steven Obst told Border Report his crop price was often "as much as or less than the cost of harvesting" when he paid someone else to pick.


When the harvest costs as much as the crop sells for, more workers won't save you. A different buyer will.


Field-Tested Play: List every crop you grow. Next to each, write roughly how much of its cost is picking. The crop where harvest is the biggest slice is your best first candidate for pick-your-own. That's where handing the job to customers saves the most.


The Turn: Farms That Handed the Harvest to Their Customers


Here's what growers did when crews were short or cost too much.


Obst Family Farm, Texas: from about 800 acres to pick-your-own


Steven Obst of Obst Family Farm in Texas's Rio Grande Valley once farmed about 800 acres. In response to labour costs, he has scaled back to a smaller operation based partly on agritourism, doing most of the work himself.


His plan: grow the crops, bring people in, let them pick. He planned to soft-open his pick-your-own by mid-October 2026. He isn't hiring his way out of high harvest costs. He's designing his way out.


LynOaken Farms, New York: sold 400 acres, kept 21 for U-pick and wine


In October 2024, LynOaken Farms in Medina, New York, did something drastic. The family, farming since 1919, sold its 400-acre wholesale orchard, about 95% of its land. It stopped selling apples to grocery stores.


It kept 21 acres, including the U-pick orchard and the wine tasting room.


Darrel Oakes said labour was 50% to 55% of their costs. Wendy Oakes Wilson called wholesale "terribly unprofitable."


Two years later, Katie Oakes runs the U-pick orchard with her husband. The farm used to bring in H-2A workers. "It's almost impossible to find local workers," she told Spectrum News. But families keep coming, and she says the U-pick has proven successful.


Down the road, Becker Farms co-owner Mindy Vizcarra says selling straight to customers has partly insulated her farm from labour problems. And a 2024 New York State Comptroller report found agritourism and recreation income on New York farms rose 78% from 2012 to 2022.


We've covered a similar shift away from wholesale in our Applecrest Farm Orchards case study.


Bell's Farm, Washington: 35 cents out vs $2.95 in


In June 2021, Bell's Farm on Whidbey Island had just under 5 acres of strawberries ripening. Co-owner Kyle Flack had less than half the pickers he needed. "We're struggling. It's across the board," he said.


Kids aged 12 to 16 made up about 85% of the picking crew. They were paid 35 cents a pound.


The farm's U-pick field was open at the same time. Customers paid $2.95 a pound to pick their own.


Flow diagram comparing a hired picking crew, where the farm pays pickers 35 cents per pound, with pick-your-own, where customers pay the farm 2.95 dollars per pound
Who does the picking and who gets paid: hired crew vs pick-your-own at Bell's Farm, June 2021 prices.

Read those two numbers again. One way, the farm pays 35 cents a pound to get berries picked. The other way, the customer pays the farm $2.95 a pound, more than eight times as much, and does the picking.


Person picking strawberries from a plant on a farm, an example of pick your own farm labor done by the customer
Illustrative photo, not Bell's Farm. Photo: Hailey Tong on Unsplash.

Sand Hutton, York: proof the public will come


In late August 2021, Rich Morritt of Sand Hutton near York couldn't find pickers for his raspberries. "The shortage of labour has made it unviable," the farm posted on Facebook. So he invited the public to pick them for free rather than waste them.


Ronda Morritt said only four or five people had shown interest in the picking jobs. Then the free-pick post went out. "We just thought we'd have 20 or 30 cars," she said. Hundreds of cars came, and by around noon the next day the farm was asking people to stop.


The fruit was free, so this is a demand story, not a revenue story. The farm couldn't fill its picking jobs, yet hundreds of visitors turned up within a day.


Allen's Orchard, Iowa: "I hand it off to the customer"


Back in 2014, Chris Jensicke of Allen's Orchard in Marion, Iowa, summed up the whole idea: "Physical labor stops off for me, and I hand it off to the customer."


The same story reported that at Bagge Strawberries near Independence, Iowa, customers and the family picked about 7,000 pounds a day at peak from a four-acre plot.


Barry Bushue, Oregon: no permanent crew


This isn't a new trick. In 2012, Oregon farmer Barry Bushue said that after about ten years of commercial U-pick, "we no longer have a regular permanent labor force." He still hired help now and then.


Oregon State University Extension says the same thing in 2025: "Having the public pick for you can save on those labor costs."


Self-serve stands: income while nobody's there


At Wild Carrot Farm in Brattleboro, Vermont, Jesse Kayan runs an honour-system farmstand. His view on theft: it "doesn't compare to what it would cost to have somebody staff the store." His farmstand sales grew tenfold in a couple of months during the pandemic.


University of Vermont Extension's Lisa Chase estimates Vermont has 200 to 500 self-serve farmstands.


In Wales, Jess and John Goodwin of Hindwell Farm Shop opened meat vending machines in September 2021. They run 6am to 11pm every day, contactless only. The machines and building cost about £85,000, and electricity runs about £150 to £180 a month. Jess's verdict: "They are manageable for a one-person enterprise."


Small white roadside flower stand with a sign beside a country road, an unstaffed farm stand that needs no sales staff
Illustrative photo, not Wild Carrot Farm or Hindwell Farm Shop. Photo: Rein Krijgsman on Unsplash.

If you're starting one, our guide on how to set up a farm stand covers location, signs and pricing.


For a farm that couldn't afford one more wage and built a farm shop instead, read our Roots Farm Shop case study. It's also a reminder that success can mean hiring again later, on your terms.


Which Visitor Income Needs the Fewest Hands?


Not all agritourism is light on staff. Here's how the main models compare on a busy day.


Ranking of agritourism income models by staff needed per day, from self-serve stands needing the fewest people to festivals needing the most
Visitor income models ranked from fewest to most people needed on a busy day.

Income model

Who does the hard work

People you need on a busy day

Real example

Self-serve stand or vending

Customer serves and pays

Very few: restocking and cash checks

Wild Carrot Farm (Vermont); Hindwell Farm Shop (Wales)

Small U-pick or choose-and-cut

Customer picks or cuts

Few: one greeter-cashier, plus field checks

Bell's Farm U-pick (Washington); LynOaken Farms U-pick (New York)

Farm stay

Guests look after themselves

Few: cleaning and changeovers between guests

Booked farm tours and group visits

You or a guide lead groups

Some: one guide per group

Company staff visits at Bloopy Durians (Malaysia)

Large U-pick weekends

Customers pick; you manage crowds

More: parking, greeting, cashier, field and clean-up

Bagge Strawberries (Iowa)

Festivals, mazes and big events

You run a show

Many: parking, safety, food and tickets

Merrymead Farm (Pennsylvania)

Wholesale hand harvest (for comparison)

Your hired crew picks everything

The most

Ian Chandler's 120-person cherry crew


If you're deciding between the middle rows, our breakdown of pick-your-own vs guided tours compares the money. For a lower-staff winter crop, see choose-and-cut Christmas tree prices.


Reality Check: Where Visitor Income Still Needs People


I'd be selling you a fairy tale if I stopped there. Visitor income needs fewer pickers. It doesn't need zero people.


The University of Kentucky's pick-your-own guide says it plainly: "PYO does not eliminate labor needs." Someone has to welcome customers, weigh or count produce, take payment and answer questions. Someone may need to pick over the rows after customers miss fruit.


The University of Tennessee warns that "many producers underestimate the amount of labor and related costs needed" for a PYO operation. It lists greeting, field guiding, cashiering and clean-up.


And some farms have walked away from U-pick altogether.


Reality Check: In Maine, Libby & Son's U-Pick in Limerick didn't open in 2025 and doesn't plan to for the foreseeable future. It needed restrooms and extra workers in the fields. Maxwell's Farm in Cape Elizabeth handed its fields to Jordan's Farm, which then cut its own pick-your-own strawberry season short. Maxwell's owners said staying open would have meant raising prices by $2 a pound. UMaine Extension's David Handley: "We're starting to see some (farmers) ditch U-pick because it's not worth it."


In Oxfordshire, Millets Farm Centre closed its pick-your-own fruit in 2025 after 50 years. It cited "ever-increasing costs and legislative demands" and several loss-making years. It kept its pick-your-own pumpkin patch.


In Pennsylvania, WLVR reported in 2021 that as much as 60% of Merrymead Farm's annual income was tied to agritourism, but the farm was running with about 50 staff in a fall that normally needed 120. Big agritainment brings big crowds, and big crowds need people.


Even self-serve isn't hands-free. In the same Farmers Weekly story as Hindwell, Thorneybank Farm Shop in Aberdeenshire had one person working full time on its vending machines, checking and restocking two or three times a day.


The lesson: most of the U-pick farms that quit pointed to rising costs. Restrooms, extra field staff, regulation. The version that saves labour is small, simple and built to run itself. Plan for crowds, too: our guide to pick-your-own farm security covers simple fixes for fruit-eating and trampled rows.


The 7-Step "Fewer Hands" Plan


Here's how to design visitor income around the people you already have, rather than the crew you can't find.


Flowchart of the 7-step fewer hands plan for beating the farm labor shortage with visitor income
The 7-step fewer hands plan.

Step No. 1: Start with one weekend


Don't build for thousands. Open one weekend with one crop and see who comes. You'll learn more in two days than in a year of planning, before you hire anyone.


Step No. 2: Sell one simple package


One price. One choice. One bucket, one price, or entry plus one basket. Every extra option creates questions, and every question needs a person to answer it. Here's why simple agritourism packages outperform complicated ones.


Step No. 3: Let visitors pay themselves


A card reader at the exit, a QR code on the sign, an honour box at the stand. Wild Carrot Farm decided theft losses were cheaper than staffing. Choose the system that removes your cashier, or turns them into a greeter.


Step No. 4: Book timed tickets online


Remember Sand Hutton's hundreds of cars? Online timed tickets spread visitors across the day, cap the crowd at what your team can handle, and take payment before anyone arrives.


Step No. 5: Put one greeter at the gate


One friendly person can explain the rules, hand out containers and point to the right rows. Put the rules on big, clear signs and that person can handle a lot of families. Our guide to creating a pick-your-own experience shows how to lay out the field so one person can see it.


Step No. 6: Use family and local teens, legally


Bell's Farm built most of its picking crew from 12- to 16-year-olds. Teens make good greeters and stand restockers, and so can your own kids. Check youth labour rules before you hire anyone under 18 (more below).


Step No. 7: Add a no-staff stand


A self-serve stand or vending locker sells on the days you're closed. It turns your quiet weekdays into income without adding a single shift.


Field-Tested Play: Before you open, write down every job a visitor creates: parking, greeting, weighing, paying, toilets, lost kids, litter. Then, next to each, write how you'll remove it, automate it, or give it to the greeter. If a job has no answer, simplify the offer until it does.


Legal, Insurance and Paperwork: Questions to Ask Before You Open the Gate


Inviting the public onto a working farm changes your legal position. This isn't legal advice. Take these questions to your lawyer, insurer and local officials.


Does my state have an agritourism liability law, and what does it require?


The National Agricultural Law Center reports that over half of US states have agritourism statutes. Many of these laws limit your liability for the natural risks of farm visits. But in many states the protection applies only if you post the warning sign the law requires. Start with our summary of agritourism laws by state.


Will a waiver actually protect me?


Waivers help, but they don't cover everything, and courts treat them differently. Read do liability waivers protect your farm? before you print one.


Does my insurance cover paying visitors?


Ask your agent directly: Does my farm policy cover the public on my land for a fee? Does it cover U-pick, wagon rides or a stand? Does it cover staff, teens or volunteers who help? Our guide to agritourism insurance lists the coverage types to ask about.


What are the rules for young helpers?


In the US, the Department of Labor says youths 16 and over may work any farm job at any time. 14- and 15-year-olds may work outside school hours in jobs not declared hazardous. Younger children face tighter limits. Children working on a farm owned or operated by their parents are largely exempt. State laws can be stricter.


In the UK, GOV.UK says children can work part-time from age 14, and some councils allow 13. Ask your local council whether you need a child employment permit.


In Canada, ask your provincial employment standards office.


What do I need when I hire anyone?


Even one greeter brings paperwork. Our guide on hiring seasonal staff for your agritourism farm covers the legal basics.


What I've Learned at Bloopy Durians


I'm Stephen Loke, founder of Bloopy Durians in Bentong, Malaysia. Our farm welcomes visitors from all over the world, and many companies send their staff and management to us.


Our durian seasons are short, roughly December to February and June to August. So we can't rely on one long harvest.


One part of our answer is our WhatsApp list of loyal customers. They buy durians whenever we have them, and it's a reliable source of income.


Another part is the trip itself. Visitors reach the farm on a four-wheel-drive adventure, so the journey itself becomes part of the experience. I wrote about how that 4WD adventure ride brought revenue to my durian farm.


Our farm has been featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. But the lesson isn't fame. It's design. Build the visit so the visitor does the travelling, exploring and buying, and you don't need an army to run it.


Frequently Asked Questions


Why is there a farm labor shortage?

Fewer local people want hand-harvest work, so many farms rely on migrant workers whose numbers depend on visas and enforcement. US farm and related employment fell about 6% between March and July 2025. The UK cut its seasonal visa quota, and Canada forecasts a growing gap to 2030.

About half of the growers surveyed, mostly fruit and vegetable growers. A 2026 Fruit Growers News survey of nearly 200 US and Canadian specialty crop growers found about 48% were short in 2025. Michigan State University research found about half of the farmers surveyed couldn't hire everyone they needed, and those farms ran about 20% short.

For 2026–27, the simple national average H-2A minimum wage (AEWR) is $12.31 an hour for Skill Level I and $16.07 for Skill Level II. But a federal court has ordered a new method by 30 December 2026, so rates may change. Housing and transport add more on top.

Hand-picked soft fruit and vegetables. In California, harvest and packing labour make up about 54% of the total cost of growing conventional strawberries. A Kentucky fresh-market pumpkin budget puts about three-quarters of labour hours into harvesting, handling and hauling. Washington apples are lighter, at about 7% of cost for picking.

Yes, for harvesting. Customers do the picking and carrying, and pay you retail prices. But you still need someone to greet, take payment and check the fields. Farms that grow U-pick into big events can end up with a large staff bill.

42,900: 41,000 for horticulture and 1,900 for poultry. The same numbers are confirmed for 2027. That's down from 45,000 in 2025 and 47,000 in 2024.

Yes. An estimated 28,200-plus farm jobs went unfilled at peak season in 2022, costing about C$3.5 billion in lost sales. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council forecasts the domestic labour gap will reach 101,100 by 2030, with over 85,300 workers expected to retire by then.

Forecasts point that way. Canada's labour council projects a wider gap by 2030. The UK's visa quota stays below the 2024 level through 2027. In the US, 38% of farm producers were 65 or older in the 2022 Census, and H-2A wage rules are in legal limbo.


Stop Hunting for Hands. Design for Fewer.


The farm labor shortage won't be solved by one good season. Oregon's cherry growers had enough workers in 2026, and prices still barely covered costs.


The farms that sleep better are the ones that stopped needing a crowd of pickers. They let customers pick, pay and carry, and they built every system to run with the people they already have.


If you want the full menu of ways to do that, grab my free ebook, 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm. Inside you'll get:


  • 150 income ideas sorted by category, from no-staff stands to farm stays, tours and events.

  • How hard each one is, so you can pick ideas your current team can actually run.

  • Price setups and earning potential for each idea, so you know what to charge before you start.

  • Ways to earn more from the land and equipment you already own, instead of relying only on unpredictable harvests.


Not sure where your farm stands? Take the free Farm Readiness Quiz first, then grab the ebook.




P.S. In Oregon, a cherry grower predicted fat, happy raccoons would feast on the fruit nobody was there to pick. Don't let your harvest feed the wildlife. Let families pick it, pay for it and come back next year. The ebook shows you 150 ways to start.


Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice.


Sources


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  2. KPTV, "Cherry farmer in The Dalles says ICE raid fears costing him workforce, profits," Karli Olson, 9 July 2025. https://www.kptv.com/2025/07/10/cherry-farmer-dalles-says-ice-raid-fears-costing-him-workforce-profits/

  3. OPB, "'We're going backwards': Oregon cherry growers still waiting on a good season," Alejandro Figueroa, 6 September 2026. https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/06/oregon-cherry-growers-still-waiting-good-season/

  4. Fruit Growers News, "2026 FGN Labor Survey," Matthew Grassi, July/August 2026. https://fruitgrowersnews.com/article/2026-fgn-labor-survey-h2a-automation/

  5. DTN/Progressive Farmer, "Understanding Ag's Labor Crisis," Anthony Greder, 9 June 2025. https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2025/06/10/understanding-ags-labor-crisis

  6. US Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED, "Employment Level – Agriculture and Related Industries" (LNS12034560), updated 2 October 2026. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/data/LNS12034560.txt

  7. The Christian Science Monitor, Scott Baldauf and Sarah Matusek, 15 October 2025. https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2025/1015/immigration-enforcement-agriculture-farms

  8. Congressional Research Service, "Concise History of Wage Regulations for the H-2A Agricultural Worker Visa" (R48833), 28 January 2026. https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2026-01-28_R48833_b8a1b7647ef10c891bd554a89d46da61515d666e.html

  9. FreshPlaza, "California survey links enforcement fears to farm labor losses," 25 February 2026. https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9814165/california-survey-links-enforcement-fears-to-farm-labor-losses/

  10. Harvest Public Media / St. Louis Public Radio, Frank Morris, 24 December 2025. https://www.stlpr.org/2025-12-24/immigrant-deportations-farm-labor

  11. Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, "Agriculture Labour Market Information Forecast to 2030: Sowing Seeds of Change," November 2023. https://cahrc-ccrha.ca/sites/default/files/2023-11/Executive%20report%20Final%20ENG%20%20%281%29.pdf

  12. Statistics Canada, The Daily, "Number of employees in the agriculture sector, 2024," 7 May 2026. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260507/dq260507a-eng.htm

  13. FreshPlaza, "Quebec sees lack of strawberry pickers," 10 June 2020. https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9224505/quebec-sees-lack-of-strawberry-pickers/

  14. Home Office, "Why do people come to the UK? Work," Immigration System Statistics, year ending June 2026, 27 August 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-june-2026/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-work

  15. GOV.UK, "Government provides certainty to horticulture and poultry businesses," 21 October 2024. https://gov.uk/government/news/government-provides-certainty-to-horticulture-and-poultry-businesses

  16. Farmers Weekly, "Seasonal worker quotas set for 2026 after NFU lobbying," 3 November 2025. https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/business-management/staff/seasonal-worker-quotas-set-for-2026-after-nfu-lobbying

  17. Farmers Weekly, "Horticulture and poultry seasonal worker numbers held for 2027," Philip Case, 1 September 2026. https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/horticulture-and-poultry-seasonal-worker-numbers-held-for-2027

  18. Defra, "Agricultural workforce in England at 1 June 2026," 24 September 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/agricultural-workforce-in-england-at-1-june/agricultural-workforce-in-england-at-1-june-2026

  19. Defra, "Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain," John Shropshire (chair), June 2023. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1166600/Independent_Review_into_Labour_Shortages_in_the_Food_Supply_Chain_June_2023.pdf

  20. NFU, "NFU horticulture mid-season labour survey results," 15 August 2022. https://www.nfuonline.com/news/nfu-horticulture-mid-season-labour-survey-results/

  21. USDA Economic Research Service, "U.S. H-2A positions certified by State, fiscal years 2005–23." https://ers.usda.gov/sites/default/files/_laserfiche/Charts/86845/H2Apositions2023_d.html

  22. USDA Economic Research Service, "Farm Labor" topic page, updated 18 November 2025. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor

  23. US Department of Labor, OFLC, "H-2A Selected Statistics, FY2025 Q4." https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/oflc/pdfs/H-2A_Selected_Statistics_FY2025_Q4.pdf

  24. American Farm Bureau Federation, "H-2A Program Use Continues to Soar," Samantha Ayoub, 22 January 2026. https://www.fb.org/intel/markets/h-2a-program-use-continues-to-soar

  25. American Farm Bureau Federation, "AEWR Changes for 2026-2027," Cameron Castillo, 6 August 2026. https://www.fb.org/intel/markets/aewr-changes-for-2026-2027

  26. Congressional Research Service, "New Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States" (IF12408), 15 October 2026. https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2026-10-15_IF12408_ab98320b4c2cba1bd5343376832300dc6e21c878.html

  27. FreshFruitPortal, USApple on H-2A costs, 28 May 2026. https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2026/05/28/aapple-growers-us/

  28. USDA NASS, "2022 Census of Agriculture Highlights: Farm Producers," February 2024. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2024/Census22_HL_FarmProducers_FINAL.pdf

  29. USDA Economic Research Service, Chart of Note, "Specialty crop farms had the largest share of cash expenses on labor relative to other farm types in 2024," Dipak Subedi and Anil K. Giri, 25 August 2026. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/115125

  30. Daniel A. Sumner, "Organic and Non-Organic Strawberries: Comparing Farm Costs and Returns," ARE Update 29(4), Giannini Foundation, University of California, 2026. https://s.giannini.ucop.edu/uploads/pub/2026/05/11/v29n4_2_dQ8Nl83.pdf

  31. University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification, "Pumpkin budget, fresh market, trickle irrigated," 2022. https://ccd.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2024-11/pumpkin_printbudget2022_large.pdf

  32. Washington State University Extension, "2024 Cost and Return Estimates of Establishing, Producing, and Packing Granny Smith Apples in Washington" (TB105E), Gallardo, Galinato and Sallato, April 2025. https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/cahnrs/uploads/sites/5/TB105E_2024-Granny-Smith-Enterprise-Budget.pdf

  33. The London Economic, Joe Mellor, 3 September 2021. https://thelondoneconomic.com/business-economics/business/raspberry-farm-who-couldnt-find-local-workers-stripped-bare-after-free-fruit-offer-288649/

  34. YorkMix, "Farmer inundated after free raspberries offer goes viral," 1 September 2021. https://yorkmix.com/farmer-inundated-after-free-raspberries-offer-goes-viral

  35. FreshPlaza, "Texas fruit and vegetable farms face seasonal labor shortage," 17 August 2026 (republished from Border Report / ValleyCentral). https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9863555/texas-fruit-and-vegetable-farms-face-seasonal-labor-shortage/

  36. WKBW 7 News Buffalo, "'The market has changed': LynOaken Farms sells majority of orchard, will no longer sell apples wholesale," Derek Heid, 17 October 2024. https://wkbw.com/news/local-news/niagara-orleans/the-market-has-changed-lynoaken-farms-sells-majority-of-orchard-will-no-longer-sell-apples-wholesale

  37. Spectrum News 1 Buffalo, Hunter Caparelli, 9 October 2026. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2026/10/09/agritourism-impacting-ny-small-farming

  38. Whidbey News-Times, Emily Gilbert, 11 June 2021. https://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/?p=101792

  39. The Gazette (Cedar Rapids), "U-pick farms: Not your typical Iowa crop," Stacey Murray, 6 July 2014. https://www.thegazette.com/?p=148196

  40. Oregon Business, "Farmers turn to U-pick," 5 July 2012. https://oregonbusiness.com/7675-farmers-turn-to-u-pick/

  41. Oregon State University Extension, "Adding U-pick or U-cut options to your farm" (EM 9520), Audrey Comerford and Melissa Fery, 9 May 2025. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/es/catalog/pub/em-9520-adding-u-pick-or-u-cut-options-your-farm

  42. Seven Days (Vermont), self-serve farmstands and the honour system, 27 March 2024. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/self-serve-farmstands-hold-tight-to-their-honor-system-payment-model-40519606

  43. Farmers Weekly, "Vending machines secure added-value farmgate sales," Suzie Horne, July 2024. https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/diversification/vending-option-secures-added-value-farmgate-sales

  44. University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification, "Pick-Your-Own (U-Pick) Marketing" (CCD-MP-3), Matt Ernst, 2021. https://ccd.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2026-04/ccd-mp-3_pyo_accessible.docx.pdf

  45. University of Tennessee Extension, "A Farmer's Guide to a Pick-Your-Own Operation" (PB1802), revised September 2014. https://utia.tennessee.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/269/2023/10/PB1802.pdf

  46. Portland Press Herald, "How Maine's U-pick farms are navigating changing needs," Kay Neufeld, 4 July 2025. https://www.pressherald.com/?p=7472327

  47. Fruit & Vine, Millets Farm Centre closes pick-your-own fruit, 5 May 2025. https://www.fruitandvine.co.uk/?p=73328

  48. WLVR, "Agritainment keeps family farm afloat, but labor shortage means extremely long hours," 12 October 2021. https://wlvr.org/agritainment-keeps-family-farm-afloat-but-labor-shortage-means-extremely-long-hours/

  49. National Agricultural Law Center, "States' Agritourism Statutes," updated 18 December 2025. https://nationalaglawcenter.org/?p=7130

  50. Roger McEowen, "Agritourism," Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics, 25 March 2022. https://agmanager.info/sites/default/files/pdf/McEowen_Agritourism_03-25-22.pdf

  51. US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, "Fact Sheet No. 40: Overview of Youth Employment (Child Labor) Provisions of the FLSA for Agricultural Occupations," revised December 2016. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/40-child-labor-farms

  52. GOV.UK, "Child employment," updated 27 October 2026. https://www.gov.uk/child-employment

  53. USDA NASS, "Farm Labor," released 21 May 2025 (the last Farm Labor report before the survey was discontinued). https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/x920fw89s/0v839z45n/sx61gj70t/fmla0525.txt

  54. Border Report / ValleyCentral, "You pick it: Labor shortage prompts farmer to scale down operations," Jorge Vela, 16 August 2026 (original of source 35). https://www.borderreport.com/border-report-tour/immigration/you-pick-it-labor-shortage-prompts-farmer-to-scale-down-operations/


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