Florida farmers can thank Trump for the severe labor shortage

No one could’ve predicted that deporting your labor force would create a labor shortage. Except, of course, everyone.

Bay News 9, a news outlet in Tampa, Florida, reports on a strawberry farm caught in the middle of a 155,000-worker shortfall across the national agricultural sector. The farm says a lot of its workers are on H-2A visas for seasonal labor. That program forces farms to provide housing and transportation, and it’s more expensive than relying on undocumented workers.

“There’s a lot of hoops you have to jump through to get certified—your housing, transportation,” said Matt Parke, who runs operations at his family farm. Not only do visa requirements increase costs and complexity of running things but also “[a]fter the job’s done, they leave. So it’s expensive in a sense, but it’s a liable labor source,” he said.

I’m not sure what he means by “liable.” Maybe he meant “reliable”? But even then, it would only be reliable in the sense that workers show up when the visa allows. Seasonal visas don’t offer more stability than the immigrants who used to stick around year-round, doing the hard work no one else wants.

Another strawberry grower in Florida told NPR the crackdown is “killing farming. This is going to end us.” He can’t afford to hire many H-2A workers, so he’s slashing production to about a third of his usual output. And less supply means higher prices—and an opening for foreign growers to grab market share.

Parke admits the shortage could mean lower supply and higher prices—because of course it does. Eliminate cheap labor, and costs go up. And with higher prices, foreign food looks more attractive. Parke himself points out that farmworkers in Mexico earn just $5.20 a day, compared to more than $100 in the U.S. Add tariffs, and imports can still undercut Florida strawberries.

Now the panic sets in. 

“Anytime that there is a threat to not getting a safe, affordable and abundant food supply, it should be concerning to the American public,” Jeb Smith, president of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, told NPR. “We do not want to be dependent on foreign countries for our food. That could be a very devastating reality.”

Don’t be shocked to learn that 87% of the Florida Farm Bureau’s political donations in the 2024 election cycle went to Republicans, or that they are big fans of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Oh, and they love President Donald Trump. 

Mass deportations mean higher costs for farmers, higher prices at the grocery store, and, eventually, foreign competition undercutting U.S. growers. And when Republican-voting farms go bankrupt as a result, tell me again—how does any of this make America great?