Immigrant workers have long played an important role in U.S. agriculture. Of the hired laborers who do most of the work on U.S. farms, three-fourths were born abroad and approximately half are not authorized to work in the United States. Foreign-born workers are closely associated with seasonal jobs in commodities that are labor intensive, including the fresh fruit and vegetables (such as berries and lettuce) that Americans and foreign consumers increasingly expect to be available year round.

However, while an immigrant-heavy workforce is nothing new, shifting migration patterns, workforce demographics and commodity demands are slowly reshaping the U.S. farm workforce...As a result, the hired farm workforce is aging and settling into life in the United States, where many workers now live with families that include U.S.-born children.

Economic incentives are again shifting to favor more agricultural research that takes into consideration both the availability and cost of labor. Perhaps the clearest signal of change has come from states where laws have been proposed to raise the minimum wage in the near future.