On November 20, 2024, the U.S.D.A.'s Farm Labor Survey was released with the new Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for 2025.  The rates in nearly every state saw year over year increases, while Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin saw modest wage rate decreases.  New rates are expected to go into effect on January 1, 2025, for all states except Alaska.  The 2025 AEWR for New York and selected fruit-producing states are listed below.

2025YoY AEWR Change for Select Fruit-producing States (in dollars)

State                                2024 AEWR           2025 AEWR            Change (YoY)

California                          19.75                    19.97                    +.22

Michigan                            18.50                    18.15                    -.35

New York                            17.80                    18.83                   +1.03

Pennsylvania                       17.20                    17.96                   +.76

Virginia                               15.81                    16.16                   +.35

Washington                          19.25                    19.82                   +.57 

The AEWR is determined using the U.S.D.A. Farm Labor Survey (FLS), a survey distributed to farmers and ranchers in 18 regions in the U.S. (excluding Alaska).  This survey is intended to prevent wages from being depressed by the employment of temporary, seasonal (H-2A) farmworkers in addition to domestic farmworkers.  The survey asks employers to report (1) total gross earnings paid during specified reference weeks (in January, April, July and October) and (2) total hours worked during the reference week.  Dividing total gross farmworker earnings (#1) by total hours worked (#2) produces an hourly wage estimate, from which the AEWR is calculated using a weighted average.

New York State's AEWR has risen $ 7.57 between 2015-2025.  A number of factors may have caused the AEWR to rise, including supply and demand pressures, low response rates to the FLS, and the possibility that respondents did not fill surveys out correctly.  If you're asked to complete the FLS, it's important to follow instructions closely to avoid incorrectly reporting gross worker earnings and total hours worked; doing so can cause the AEWR to rise above local labor market wage rates.