The average age of farmworkers in the Plains and upper Midwest is rising at a much faster rate than in the rest of the country, said the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank on Thursday. Most of the farmworkers in the Minneapolis district, stretching from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Montana, were born in the United States.
“According to Census [Bureau] data, the median age of agricultural workers in district states rose from 51 in 2012 to 56 in 2021,” said the regional Fed in an article on labor availability. “That rise was much faster than in the rest of the country, where the median age increased from 47 to 48 within the same period.”
There are more farmworkers over the age of 55 than a decade ago and fewer workers in the 45 to 54 age group — “a hollowing out of the middle of the age distribution,” the article said.
In a survey by the Minneapolis Fed, 63 percent of agricultural bankers said labor availability was a serious challenge. They said it was harder to find permanent workers than seasonal labor. A large majority of bankers taking part in the survey said labor availability had worsened over the past five years. “It’s becoming more and more difficult to obtain the labor needed to operate,” said a Minnesota banker.