Farm labor trends in southwest Florida, USA – management challenges and opportunities

Reliance on foreign guest workers, rising minimum wages, and corporate social responsibility are three trends emerging within the southwest Florida agricultural economy. These trends are creating higher costs and pushing employers into new management relationships with their farm workers. On one hand, higher costs could compromise the competitive position of agricultural operations. One the other hand, new management strategies could increase overall worker productivity and/or create new avenues of market access for their products. The success to which agricultural employers adjust to these trends with cost effective management strategies likely will determine their long term economic sustainability.