US farms are increasingly reliant on contract workers who are acutely exposed to climate extremes

abcnews.go.com:

The latest U.S. agricultural census data, out last month with the latest five-year update of data from 2022, shows an increase in the proportion of farms utilizing contract labor compared to those hiring labor overall

Six years ago, Illinois farmer John Ackerman didn't hire any contract workers at all. Now he typically hires about 22 every year through a local coordinator that helps farmers hire crews of agriculturally skilled, often Latino workers. Those teams hand-weed the soybeans Ackerman grows alongside the pumpkin and corn crops he uses for his primarily fall-focused agrotourism outfit.

He still hires about the same number of locals, around 25 part-time workers in the fall, many of them teenagers or young adults, to run sales and pick pumpkins. He enjoys mentoring young people, but says it's felt harder lately to justify hiring inexperienced workers when contract workers do the same hard, physical jobs faster and better.

“I worry about the day that comes where it’s a better choice to have contract laborers come and help me” year-round, he said.

A higher proportion of U.S. farms are now using contract workers, according to the most recent U.S. agricultural census data, out last month with a five-year update from the previous 2017 data. Because of the terms of their employment, those laborers have specific challenges voicing concerns about their working conditions, and are more likely to be on the front lines of climate change, facing increasing heat and extreme weather. Climate change affects all farm workers, but advocates and researchers say this is a reason to focus particularly on these workers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines contract labor as including contractors, crew leaders, cooperatives, or