Demand and cost up for agricultural workers in Arkansas

H-2A changes up temp labor wages

September 15, 2023 at 2:03 a.m.

by Cristina LaRue

Michael Johnson, a migrant worker from Jamaica, picks apples at the Scott Farm Orchard in Dummerston, Vt., last month. (AP/The Brattleboro Reformer/Kristopher Radder)


The H-2A temporary agricultural workforce is growing in Arkansas and recent changes to wage requirements for migrant workers could drive labor costs higher.

This is the first year Heath Donner, who farms peanuts, cotton, corn and soybeans with his father on 3,000 acres in Mississippi County, has hired H-2A temporary workers.

"We...