Exploring Farm Labor Through a Food Systems Lens: Building Long-Term Viability for Small and Mid-Size Farms

Commodities

Practices

This multi-institutional, interdisciplinary project builds on ongoing community-based research in Virginia and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to examine the interconnected social, ecological, economic, and health dimensions shaping farm labor experiences among farmworkers and farmers. Farm labor has long been a challenge for farmers and is a growing concern as small and mid-size operations navigate shrinking labor availability, rising costs, and complex policy environments. At the same time, farmworkers are essential to farming systems and require supportive working conditions to maintain their livelihoods and wellbeing. The overarching aim of this project is to advance long-term agricultural viability for small and mid-size farms through a food systems lens that centers both farm operator and farmworker perspectives. A growing body of scholarship emphasizes that integrating a food systems approach with farm labor research is essential for addressing the dynamic and interdependent challenges of farm labor in sustainable agriculture. By situating farm labor within broader food system relationships and infrastructure, this project will illuminate how farm labor conditions influence, and are influenced by, farm management decisions, market pressures, ecosystem practices, and community wellbeing. This interdisciplinary approach aims to strengthen activities, relationships, and interactions across the agricultural system, creating pathways toward more resilient and sustainable outcomes for farms and the people, both operators and workers, who sustain them. Designed as a community-based participatory research and educational initiative, the project will employ a mixed-methods and in-depth case study approach with researchers, extensional professionals, farmers, and farmworkers in Virginia and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The focus will be on small- and mid-size fruit and vegetable production farming systems as examples of regenerative agriculture. Small- and mid-scale farms in these southern regions similarly often face challenges to their long-term viability, yet they play an essential role in meeting consumer demand for fresh, locally grown produce. The research component will assess factors such as labor retention, financial wellbeing, ecological production practices, public health, on-farm safety, and economic indicators tied to workforce stability and farm viability across harvest and postharvest systems. By integrating qualitative and quantitative data, the project will generate a systems-level understanding of how labor conditions and management decisions intersect with harvest and postharvest practices to influence agricultural viability at the farm labor level. The education and outreach components will collaboratively translate research findings into practical "sustainable agricultural labor model" strategies and tools for small- and mid-scale farms. Through educational trainings, peer-to-peer learning exchanges, mobile education unit outreach, and collaborative resource development, the project aims to build capacity among farmer and farmworker stakeholders to improve labor conditions and adopt effective approaches for farmers and farmworkers. A shared online platform of the Sustainable Farm Labor Partnership will disseminate research results, training materials, and farmer-developed solutions across the Southern SARE region. By integrating interdisciplinary and participatory research with engaged educational approaches, this project advances sustainable agriculture by examining how farm labor shapes small‑farm viability and profitability to strengthen the wellbeing of both farmers and workers within our food systems.

Building on an established action research partnership (Greenwood & Levin, 2007) and prior pilot research and extension programming (Niewolny et al., 2024), this project integrates participatory research and applied education to advance farm labor systems that are economically viable, socially responsible, and environmentally sound, consistent with SARE's goals. Guided by Objective 1, the project strengthens and sustains a multi‑stakeholder network of farmers, farmworkers, researchers, and service providers using a community‑based participatory research (CBPR) approach to ensure that project activities are grounded in stakeholder priorities and real‑world farm conditions (Israel, Eng, Schulz, & Parker, 2012). The project focuses on small‑ and mid‑scale vegetable and fruit operations in Virginia and the Rio Grande Valley region of southern Texas, regions facing shared labor and economic pressures. In alignment with Objectives 2 and 3, the project employs a mixed‑methods design, including surveys, participatory case studies, interviews, and on‑farm observations, to examine how structural (economic, regulatory) and behavioral (individual) factors interact to shape farm labor decisions and outcomes. These analyses will identify system‑level leverage points and support the co‑development and evaluation of sustainable labor models that balance labor efficiency, worker well‑being, and farm viability. Through participatory case studies, farmers and farmworkers will collaborate in refining practical strategies within preharvest, harvest, and postharvest systems, generating evidence relevant across a multitude of farm contexts. Consistent with Objective 4, research findings will be translated into practical educational materials, decision‑support resources, and peer learning opportunities designed to support on‑farm adoption through a participatory approach through our community-university Sustainable Labor Partnership (SFL). Outreach activities, including workshops, field events, webinars, participatory trainings, and deployment of the VSU Mobile Education Unit, will engage farmers, farmworkers, agricultural professionals, and service providers. Together, these integrated research and outreach efforts will generate actionable, farmer‑relevant knowledge, strengthen regional learning networks, and support the long‑term adoption of sustainable farm labor practices across the Southern SARE region.

Objective 1. Build & Maintain Multi‑Stakeholder Sustainable Farm Labor (SFL) Partnership

This project seeks to strengthen and sustain an interdisciplinary network of farmers, farmworkers, researchers, and service providers in Virginia and southern Texas through a community‑based participatory research (CBPR) approach. The Sustainable Farm Labor (SFL) Partnership, originally rooted in Virginia and now extended to a community-university team in the Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, will actively engage stakeholders in project design, data collection, data interpretation, and outreach to ensure that the research addresses priority needs and produces actionable, context‑relevant outcomes.

Objective 2. Identify Systems Level Leverage Points Influencing Farm Labor Practices

Objective 3. Develop & Evaluate Sustainable Labor Models & Tools Through Participatory Approach

Implement in‑depth participatory case studies of preharvest, harvest, and postharvest systems across at least four small, diversified vegetable and fruit farms in Virginia and the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas. In collaboration with farmers and farmworkers, the project will co‑develop and test sustainable labor models that balance economic viability, worker health and safety, and environmental stewardship. Outcomes will be evaluated using indicators such as labor efficiency, worker wellbeing, and overall farm performance. The Sustainable Farm Labor (SFL) Partnership will design and implement all activities with farmer cooperator leadership as a central component.

Objective 4. Co-develop & Deliver Integrated Education, Outreach, & Decision Support Resources to Facilitate Farm Level Adoption of Sustainable Farm Labor Practices