Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
e. 2. An assessment of the agricultural activity in the State means: 1) Identifying the top five labor-intensive crops, the months of heavy activity, and the geographic area of prime activity; 2) Summarize the agricultural employers’ needs in the State (i.e. are they predominantly hiring local or foreign workers, are they expressing that there is a scarcity in the agricultural workforce); and 3) Identifying any economic, natural, or other factors that are affecting agriculture in the State or any projected factors that will affect agriculture in the State
Current Narrative:
The top five labor-intensive crops are:
| Crop | Peak Season(s) | Geographical Area(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Sugarcane | Planting: July through October Harvest: mid-September through early January | Eastern Acadiana Parishes and River Parishes from Avoyelles to Lafourche |
| Soybeans | Planting: early April through mid-June Harvest: early September through late November | Central parishes |
| Crawfish | Harvest: March through June, variable | South Central to Southwestern LA |
| Rice | Planting: mid-March through May 31th Harvest: late July through early October | South Central to Southwestern LA |
| Plant Nurseries | January through mid-November | Rapides and St. Tammany Parishes |
Many Louisiana communities depend on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and wildlife for local jobs and their economic well-being. However, for those who work in it day in and day out, agriculture, forestry and fisheries are far more than a business, a major contributor and an economic engine. It truly is a way of life. Families have lived on many of these farms, forest lands or fishing villages for generations following a preferred way of life even though it means hard work, many hours, high risk and sometimes low incomes.
The general employment trend in rural Louisiana has been for workers to leave agricultural work for higher paying or less labor intensive jobs in other occupations. While many workers enjoy agricultural work, very few can adapt to living on a seasonal income. As a result, agricultural employers have a difficult time finding reliable local workers. The H-2A temporary agricultural foreign worker program has become increasingly popular among Louisiana agricultural employers, following the national trend. Today, H-2A workers dominate the agricultural labor force in the state.
Louisiana H-2A statistics show an increase in the number of positions requested and certified by ETA, US DOL, Office of Labor Certification.
2016 – 8,301 H-2A positions certified
2017 – 8,875 H-2A positions certified
2018 – 10,079 H-2A positions certified
2019 – 10,816 H-2A positions certified
2020 – 11,332 H-2A positions certified
2021 – 12,473 H-2A positions certified
None of the employers expressed an interest in the Agricultural Recruitment System (ARS) beyond searching for workers locally through the HIRE system. This job order activity is consistent with the growing trend for agricultural employers to seek H-2A workers. This indicates the level of demand for agricultural workers within the state.
Agricultural employers repeat four common challenges in obtaining a secure and stable workforce:
- Most workers lack interest in seasonal work.
- Most workers are not interested in farm work.
- An increasing number of workers do not have the stamina for farm work, especially in extreme climatic conditions.
- A lack of workers who will show up for work every day or on time when they do.
- A lack of reliable workers who will stay with the job more than a few weeks, sometimes abandoning the job without notice.
Louisiana has experienced significant disaster events since 2020, which include the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta, and Ida. The unprecedented hurricanes caused significant wind damages and flooding across multiple parishes affecting the growing and harvesting seasons. Wet conditions in the spring and during planting along with high river levels caused difficulty for many commodities and either forced acreage to be shifted to other commodities or totally left unplanted resulting in lower yields.
In addition to the production difficulties experience since 2020, producers also faced an uncertain market environment. Trade disputes and tougher trade policies helped to create a great deal of volatility in commodity markets. Significant slowdowns in export sales were experienced for most row crop commodities and some livestock commodities. Despite relatively strong and stable domestic demand, the uncertainty regarding trade and trade policy did slowly start to impact commodity prices. Some commodity prices were able to remain mostly unchanged from the previous years, but this was primarily a function of lower overall production and supplies in the United States and not a function of strong demand.
Each new production season has risks associated with commodity prices, trade agreements and higher costs as well as uncertainty related to the weather. For these reasons, agriculture in Louisiana will continue to see future difficulties.