Proposed Visa Changes Could Cut Farm Labor Costs

Farmers across the Southeast could see major changes to labor costs under a new proposal from the Trump Administration that aims to revise the H-2A visa program for agricultural workers. The proposed rule would update how workers are classified and lower the “Adverse Effect Wage Rate,” or AEWR — the minimum hourly rate employers must pay H-2A workers.

In Georgia alone, more than 37,000 farm jobs are filled through the H-2A program each year, and producers say labor expenses have climbed more than 30 percent since 2022. Under the proposed changes, Georgia’s top AEWR would be capped at $16.22 an hour, with an adjustment that effectively lowers the rate to about $14.47 starting in 2026.

This information comes from the office of Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, who called the proposal “a huge win for Georgia’s number-one industry.” Harper says the changes could be “the deciding factor that allows them to produce a crop this year when they otherwise may not have.”

The proposed rule is currently under federal review and open for public comment.