A new report released this week reveals a growing shortage in the local farm labor sector, primarily due to a lack of affordable housing for Napa Valley farmworkers.

The Farmworker Housing Needs and Impacts Assessment Report, commissioned by the Napa County Board of Supervisors one year ago, notes that the farmworker shortage presents significant challenges for Napa Valley’s wine industry.

“The findings in this report are a call to action,” said Joelle Gallagher, chair of the Napa County Board of Supervisors. “Prioritizing the housing requirements of our farmworkers is not just our social responsibility but also essential to maintaining the economic vitality of our wine industry.”

According to the report, the Napa Valley wine industry and related businesses generate an annual economic impact of more than $9.4 billion locally and nearly $34 billion across the United States.

Farmworkers are responsible for 99% of the gross agricultural production in Napa Valley despite representing just 5% of Napa County’s total workforce, according to key data in the report, presented to the Board of Supervisors at their July 23 meeting.

Housing for farmworkers has been coined a “high priority” by Napa County leaders and vintners. However, farmworkers generally receive considerably lower wages than those in other jobs, making it more difficult to afford a mortgage or rent.  

The average hourly pay for a farm worker in Napa is $18.24 an hour, according to Zip Recruiter. But a recently released report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that workers must earn at least $52.88 an hour to afford rent for a modest two-bedroom apartment in Napa without spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

Caught up in the area’s housing challenges are farmworker families and individuals who make unhealthy trade-offs to afford rent and access housing, often resulting in overcrowded households and family separation. Contrary to common perception, most farmworkers in Napa are not single men but working parents, many with children under 18, according to the report.

“Without a large local workforce, there is concern about shifting to mechanization, which, although efficient, is not preferred by many vintners who value the hand labor necessary for certain wine production processes,” the county report states.

Napa County’s farm labor workforce consists of approximately 9,000 individuals, the report found, increasing to 11,000 during the harvest season and decreasing to 4,800 in the winter.

Farmworkers are typically defined as individuals whose primary income is derived from agricultural labor. They are commonly categorized into three groups: permanent, seasonal and migrant. 

Permanent farmworkers are usually employed year-round by the same employer. Seasonal employees work on average fewer than 150 days a year and earn at least half of their income from farm work. Migrant farmworkers are seasonal workers who must travel for their jobs, making it impossible for them to return to their permanent residences within the same day.

“To safeguard the economic vitality of the Napa Valley wine industry, residents, business owners and policymakers must invest in housing for farmworkers,” Jennifer Palmer, the county’s director of Housing & Homeless Services, told supervisors. “Addressing these housing challenges is crucial to ensuring the future success of Napa Valley’s agriculture and wine industries.”

To read the full report online click here.