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Immigration enforcement policies, such as E‐Verify, have a negative effect on the US supply of farm labor. A growing literature finds that agricultural producers in the United States are facing a shrinking labor supply, while only a few studies examine how agricultural producers are adjusting to having less labor. This study examines how a shrinking labor force affects agricultural production decisions, specifically in terms of labor‐intensive and capital‐intensive crops. With less labor it is more challenging for agricultural producers to produce labor‐intensive crops when there is no available technology to substitute for labor. We use E‐Verify enforcement laws as a quasi‐natural negative labor shock and data from the Agricultural Resource Management Survey to examine this issue. We find a decline in the production of labor‐intensive crops and an increase in the production of capital‐intensive crops in the states that have enforced "strong" E‐Verify laws. Based on our results, the opposite is true for "weak" E‐Verify states. [EconLit Citations: Q12, Q18, J6, K37]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illustrates the effects of design of a workers' compensation system on farmers' costs of participation and incentives to protect farmworkers from safety hazards. Benefits provided by workers' compensation systems in the United States; Concern about the rising worker compensation costs.

Investigates the determinants of the provision of health benefits to full-time farm workers in Virginia using farm-level data. Factor which contributed to the development and adoption of labor-saving technologies; Information on the Bracero program; Impact of health benefits and provision of housing on wages at Virginia farms.

Examines the role of the agribusiness sector in United States (U.S.) in the provision of family support and child care options for off-farm employed individuals and families. Economic and workforce patterns in the U.S.; Policy issue of child care and family support programs; Trends in rural economic development.