Much of the agricultural industry is automated now. About 50-60%. Labor pays what the market calls for. About $100 per day on the low end. Over $200 on the high end with some sort of benefits. Black, Hispanic, white or other it’s still low skilled labor. It’s not like they’re paying $5 a day. If you’re white need a job and are low skilled the only thing keeping from a job like that is ego.
In Oregon the average pay for farm labor is $18.45 an hour. Farmworkers in Oregon are entitled to certain benefits in 2025, including overtime pay, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, and access to Paid Leave Oregon, etc.
Minimum wage in Oregon falls between just under $14 to around $16 per hour. The current federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour. Just try to find a federal employee who is earning $7.25 an hour. It is basically a bogus number.
The majority of farm work, especially crop-related work, is seasonal.
Many farm laborers earn wages which fall well below the federal poverty level.
In the U.S. around 77% of farmworkers are Hispanic, mostly Mexicans. Around 32% of farmworkers are white, while with Black farmworkers it about 3%.
