Farmworkers perform essential labor that ensures Americans have convenient and reliable access to fruits, vegetables and other products. But, for decades, they have endured substandard housing and working conditions.
To better understand those conditions, Investigate Midwest has obtained housing inspections from dozens of states. View our map of housing inspections — including violations inspectors noted — and our additional coverage below.
This project has been generously funded by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.
Hover or click on the dots in the map on the right to see more detailed information, including the violations inspectors found. This is an ongoing project, and this map will be updated as more records become available.
The amount of information collected by each state varies. The names of companies and the content of the comments are as described by each state agency; they have not been edited and may contain spelling or other errors.
our latest
Detectores de humo que no funcionan, habitaciones llenas de moho y botiquines de primeros auxilios vacíos: las pésimas condiciones de vida que sufren los trabajadores agrícolas en todo el país
Dead smoke alarms, moldy rooms, empty first aid kits: Farmworkers endure unsafe and substandard housing across US
Dos trabajadores H-2A murieron en un incendio en Carolina del Norte: Lo que hay que saber sobre este caso
Two H-2A workers died in a fire in North Carolina: What you need to know
The ultimate price
Employers banned from hiring H-2A workers can ‘reinvent’ themselves to hire again
Farms need to recruit US residents before hiring foreign farmworkers. Some skip that step, lawsuits allege.
US labor department proposes changes to H-2A program aimed at improving worker protections
Government system for protecting farmworkers plagued by staff turnover and lack of outreach
Selected stories from our archives
Farmers were exposed to roughly twice as many pesticides as general population in EU study
High temperatures browbeat US as regulators discuss new heat protection rule for workers
Iowa immigrants fear the Trump administration’s move toward mass deportation
Bird flu is racing through farms, but Northwest states are rarely testing workers
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Still Harvesting Shame
An investigation by In These Times and The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting reveals how today’s migrant farmworkers are still living in deplorable housing reminiscent of “Harvest of Shame.”
Blighted Housing: Inspections fail to stem poor conditions for migrant farmworkers
An ongoing investigation by The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting has found the oversight of migrant housing is a fractured and ineffective system despite decades of reforms.
These farmworkers were forced to labor on empty stomachs
During an incident in Kennett, Missouri, in summer 2018, H-2A workers labored through high temperatures while denied breakfast and with little access to water. Their legal status was supposed to protect them.
Trump’s deportations are causing farm labor issues. He hasn’t presented a viable, long-term solution.
Farmworker advocates take issue with U.S. House ag committee recommendations on H-2A program
GRAPHIC: Back wages owed to H-2A workers have doubled in the last 15 years
GRAPHIC: Just 3 states account for one-third of H-2A jobs, data shows
Human trafficking has long haunted agriculture. Experts fear it flourished during the pandemic.
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