The average age of farmworkers born outside the U.S. steadily increased from 2008 to 2019, while the average age of U.S.-born workers has stayed about the same over the same period.

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Agriculture shapes the water you drink, the air you breathe, and the communities at the heart of farming.

Foreign-born farmworkers are on average 5 years older than their U.S.-born counterparts.

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An analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Research Service attributes the trend to a decline in younger immigrants entering the U.S. workforce.

The age of the average immigrant farm worker was nearly 42 in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available.

Three quarters of hired farm workers were foreign-born as of 2016, and about one quarter are women, according to the USDA.

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GRAPHIC: The people who pick America’s fruits and vegetables are getting older

by Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest, Investigate Midwest
June 16, 2021

<h1>GRAPHIC: The people who pick America’s fruits and vegetables are getting older</h1>
<p class="byline">by Madison McVan, Investigate Midwest, Investigate Midwest <br />June 16, 2021</p>

<p>The average age of farmworkers born outside the U.S. steadily increased from 2008 to 2019, while the average age of U.S.-born workers has stayed about the same over the same period.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Foreign-born farmworkers are on average 5 years older than their U.S.-born counterparts.&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=101405">An analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Research Service</a> attributes the trend to a decline in younger immigrants entering the U.S. workforce.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The age of the average immigrant farm worker was nearly 42 in 2019, the most recent year for which data is available.</p>
<p>Three quarters of hired farm workers were foreign-born as of 2016, and about one quarter are women, <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2020/october/us-farm-employers-respond-to-labor-market-changes-with-higher-wages-use-of-visa-program-and-more-women-workers/">according to the USDA.&nbsp;</a></p>
</p>
<div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="visualisation/6439171"></div></p>
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