DOVER, Fla. — The agriculture industry is experiencing the largest labor shortage in nearly a decade. The problem has worsened over the last four months with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions.

What You Need To Know

  •  Agriculture Industry faces largest labor shortage in a decade 

  •  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says Ag employment has fallen by 155,000 workers since March 

  •  This could cause prices to spike

At Parkesdale Farms in Dover, workers are preparing fields to plant strawberries. At its height, the farm has a workforce of roughly 600 people, many of them H-2A visa holders.

“There’s a lot of hoops you have to jump through to get certified — your housing, transportation,” said Matt Parke, Vice President and Director of Operations. This is his family farm.

Parke said about 95% of berry farmers in Florida and other states have moved to employing workers through H-2A visas, which have a higher cost than undocumented laborers.

“After the job’s done, they leave. So it’s expensive in a sense, but it’s a liable labor source,” he said.

Parke said his family farm is shielded from the growing labor shortage felt by others in the agriculture industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, agricultural employment has fallen by 155,000 workers since March. He said that reduction could lead to less supply and higher prices.

Stores looking for other sources to fill the void of lost production in the U.S. could turn to cheaper product from places like Mexico.

“So the best way to describe what happens in Mexico compared to the United States is that the labor down there is our labor force, who will make $100, $120 on average a day. Down there, they’re making $5.20,” Parke said.

He added that the 25% tariff on Mexico could help to level the playing field, but said some U.S. farmers will have to adjust to using H-2A labor as immigration enforcement continues to expand.