New AEWR rates mean increases in many states

Widespread H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) increases are set for 2026-2027 in the first full-year calculation of wages based on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey.

Rates for Skill Level I, or entry level, increases affect 39 states, with Kansas seeing the largest increase at 21.3%. Skill Level I AEWRs average $12.31 per hour nationally, up 3.5% from 2025-2026. Skill Level II AEWRs, which cover positions requiring experience or other qualifications, average $16.07 per hour, up 2.1%.

The new rates took effect Aug. 3 in most states. Seventeen states — Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia — remain covered by an injunction preventing DOL from enforcing portions of its 2024 Farmworker Protection Rule in those jurisdictions. In those states, the new rates remain subject to the former two-week lead-time requirement. 

In October 2025, AEWR methodology was revised to use wage data reported for each U.S. state and territory by the OEWS survey rather than USDA’s Farm Labor Survey, which was deemed outdated.

“While these wage rates are a significant improvement from the previous wage structure, Congressional action is still needed to ensure farmers can continue to grow the nutritious food our country depends on for our health and well-being,” the National Potato Council (NPC) said in a statement.

NPC and others Agriculture Workforce Coalition (AWC) members are urging Congress to pass the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (SAWA), introduced in July, to help lessen AEWR volatility. SAWA includes provisions that would limit year-over-year AEWR increases to no more than 3.25%, while capping decreases at 1.5%.

Under SAWA provisions, farmers in several states would have seen wage savings this year. For example, in Louisiana, the 2026-2027 ACA-adjusted Skill Level I AEWR increase of 90 cents per hour (10.9% year-over-year) would have been limited to an increase of 27 cents per hour, (3.25% year-over-year), according to calculations in the NPC’s weekly Eye on D.C. newsletter.

“Ultimately, SAWA offers a much-needed solution to address the year-to-year swings in AEWRs, reducing production expense uncertainty for growers who rely on the H-2A visa program to market their products,” NPC said in the statement.