Carr Continues Fight to Lower Costs for Georgia Farmers

ATLANTA, GA – Attorney General Chris Carr today sent a letter to President Donald Trump’s nominees for U.S. Secretaries of Labor and Agriculture regarding the continuously rising Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for H-2A guest farm workers.

Should the current AEWR take effect in 2025, Georgia farmers will face an estimated 9.5 percent increase in wages to use H-2A labor. This follows substantial prior increases handed down by the U.S. Department of Labor during the Biden administration.

“Our farmers are already battling sharp declines in net income due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, and the wage increases imposed by the Biden administration will make farming simply unaffordable,” said Carr. “We look forward to working with President Trump to lower costs for Georgia farmers as we continue to grow our state’s No. 1 industry.”

Carr previously sent a letter to current Labor Secretary Julie Su and Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack requesting that these increases not take effect, but the Biden administration refused. 

Find a copy of the most recent letter here . Find a copy of Carr’s prior letter here .