ABSTRACT
The farm labour prosperity paradox explains why hired farm workers become more important and vulnerable as the share of labour employed in agriculture declines. Hired workers do a larger share of work on the fewer and larger farms that produce most farm commodities in richer countries, and they include local workers unable to find non-farm jobs and internal and international migrants away from their usual homes. Unique farm labour laws and immigration policies often make it more difficult for hired farm workers to protect themselves. On both sides of the Atlantic, farm labour problems have become more acute as overall agricultural employment shrinks, the importance of hired workers rises, and the hired farm workforce includes more vulnerable workers. This paper outlines the historical development of farming systems and farm labour in the US, and details the key reasons for the agricultural industry’s increasing reliance on more vulnerable hired workers, as well as attempts by farm workers to organise and improve conditions. The chapter focuses on California, which houses the world’s most intensive farm system and provides one vision of a future that could emerge in Europe, namely, large, and specialised farms that depend on a mix of vulnerable local and foreign workers who have few other job opportunities.
