Key takeaways • U.S. farm employment has declined steadily since 1969, but the burden is uneven across roughly 2,000 rural counties. • In a meaningful share of rural counties, farm work exceeds 20% of total employment — multiples of the national average. • Program funding and certified-contractor supply often diverge at the county level, producing funded-but-unstaffed risk. • The migrant share of crop workers has collapsed since the 1990s; most labor is now settled.

Based on the most recent LandConnect platform data—covering 152,473 NRCS payment records updated as of November 18, 2025—this report analyzes more than 1.9 million conservation payments and practices across 55 states and territories.