As we come into the spring growing season, it’s a great time to remember and reflect on those who help put food on the table year-round. National Farmworker Awareness Week (March 25 - 31, 2026) offers an important moment to recognize the people whose labor sustains North Carolina’s largest industry: agriculture. Contributing more than $111 billion annually to the state economy, agriculture is our food supply and more. North Carolina is the nation’s top producer of sweet potatoes, tobacco, poultry and eggs; 2nd in Christmas trees, turkeys and trout; 3rd in hogs, cucumbers and fresh market strawberries; 4th in peanuts and broilers; 5th in cotton; and 6th in blueberries. Farmworkers are the backbone of this economy; however, their contributions can often go unseen.
As one of the most crop-diverse states in the country, North Carolina relies heavily on hand-harvesting, especially for fruits and vegetables that cannot be easily mechanized – about 85% are handpicked. This drives dependence on seasonal and migrant labor during peak harvests. Many workers participate in the H-2A visa program, which allows farms to hire temporary agricultural workers when domestic labor is unavailable. Growers consistently struggle to find U.S.-based workers willing to take on this physically demanding, seasonal farm labor.
In North Carolina, roughly 80,000 farmworkers, including local seasonal workers and H-2A visa holders, help bring crops from field to table each year. The farmworker community is largely Spanish-speaking, but is diverse, encompassing many cultures, ethnic groups, genders, and ages. Farm work is among the most dangerous jobs in the country, with workers enduring long hours, adverse weather conditions, and tough living conditions. Nationwide, farmworkers suffer the highest rate of toxic chemical injuries of any other wage-earners, having higher incidences of heat stress, dermatitis, urinary tract infections, parasitic infections, and tuberculosis. Meanwhile, farmers must balance rising labor costs, housing responsibilities, and regulatory requirements, even as some expenses are increasingly shifted onto workers.
Farmworkers, unfortunately, are sometimes treated differently under the law. Overtime, unemployment insurance and union protection are not guaranteed under federal law. Farmworkers were excluded from nearly all major federal laws passed in the 1930s, and only in 1978 did the Fair Labor Standard Act get amended to mandate a minimum wage for farmworkers on large farms.
Advocates emphasize a simple but urgent message: farmworkers deserve to be treated with dignity and fairness. In NC, organizations work to improve conditions through education, outreach, and policy change. Even with advances in technology, many specialty crops will continue to rely on human hands.
For residents of the Cape Fear region, this week is a chance to reflect on the people behind our food, the people who help to keep us all alive. Farmworkers are not just part of agriculture—they are part of our communities. Supporting fair labor practices and learning about their contributions is a meaningful step toward a more equitable and sustainable food system.
Matt Collogan serves as the Area Natural Resources Agent for N.C. Cooperative Extension, in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties. He can be reached at mecollog@ncsu.edu.
