Despite the cooling temperatures during the winter season, farm workers still face the consequences of climate change as temperatures drop below average.

Changes in rainfall patterns and temperature are leading to a northward shift in crop production, thus changing where migrant workers search for work, making their lives increasingly less routine and more uncertain. 

Farm workers moving further north face an increased likelihood of severe winter conditions, such as crop freezes. While companies have their crops insured, farm workers are not and don’t get paid leave when crops fail. 

Heavy rainfall affects farm workers when flooding hits farming communities, especially in California.

In California, extreme rain can cause severe damage and flooding of agricultural communities. Not only do fields get flooded, which affects the availability of work for workers to do, but they also affect homes, either flooding them or outright destroying them. This has caused farm working communities to face not only a work shortage, but also a housing crisis as well.

Because many agricultural employers are exempt from unemployment taxes, many farm workers are also not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.