Slow growth in real wages for Ohio’s agricultural workers
by Margaret Jodlowski (jodlowski.1@osu.edu) and Cassie Mavis
Agricultural employers face the challenging balancing act of navigating tightening margins while needing to attract and retain workers on their operations. While farm labor issues are perhaps not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Ohio agriculture, workforce dynamics play an important role in all of Ohio’s agricultural operations, even those that are more row crop focused or less labor intensive. Wages and other forms of compensation are, of course, key factors that influence workers’ behavior. Using the only nationally representative data that directly surveys farmworkers, we can examine workers’ income trends over the last 20 years, compare wages by job type and worker demographics, and explore non-wage compensation.
Although the overall average wage has grown slowly, this average does not convey important differences by worker type, experience, and other important factors.
- Workers’ hourly wage has grown only about $4 per hour over the last 20 years; the trend in Ohio closely matches the trend in the Corn Belt and Northern Plains (CBNP), which is made up of states with relatively similar production characteristics as Ohio:
- Worker experience (measured by years spent working in agriculture) has grown more valuable since the COVID-19 pandemic: laborers with 20 or more years of experience saw a significant increase in their average wage in the period between 2020 and 2022
- Equipment operators also experienced a notable jump in their average wage during this period. Workers with these skills were especially important to retain and competition from other industries was stiff.
- In addition, workers experienced few positive changes in terms of other forms of non-wage compensation: fewer employers are able to offer health insurance and the percent offering bonuses (of any kind) has remained relatively stable since 2000.
The need for a well-functioning agricultural labor market is always a pressing one. Compensation is a major factor that determines where individuals decide to work. As agriculture continues to change, understanding what compensation to provide employees can play a crucial role in securing the workforce necessary to succeed as an industry.
