Storms, Sweat, and Survival — Farm Workers on the Frontlines of Climate Change

In this episode of Temperature Check: Coastal Edition, host Natalia Sanchez Loayza shifts the focus inland to explore the profound impact of climate change on North Carolina’s farm workers. She speaks with Mario Vargas, coordinator of the North Carolina offices of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and the Campaign for Migrant Worker Justice (CMWJ).

Born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, Vargas began working in the fields at age 12, joining his mother and eight siblings in the seasonal migration circuit that stretched from Florida to Michigan. For 15 years, he picked crops like tomatoes, onions, peaches, apples—and tobacco, one of North Carolina’s most demanding and dangerous harvests. 

Vargas reflects on the harsh realities of farm work—from unpaid wages to threats of deportation—and how those experiences propelled him into organizing. Now, as a leader in migrant labor justice, he sees the effects of climate change accelerating: extreme heat, flooding, and unpredictable growing seasons are disrupting harvest schedules and leaving workers without jobs—or worse, endangering their lives.

Vargas shares how workers sleep ten to a trailer and how lack of language access and fear of retaliation compound already dangerous conditions. He shares how he and his team took it upon themselves to translate storm alerts into Spanish and distribute them by text and WhatsApp when Tropical Storm Debbie struck—because they worried no one else was going to do it.

10 Facts About Farm Labor and Migrant Workers in North Carolina

1. North Carolina is one of the top agricultural states in the U.S., producing major crops like sweet potatoes, tobacco, cucumbers, and Christmas trees.
2. Over 80,000 farmworkers labor in North Carolina’s fields each year, many of whom are seasonal and migrant workers.
3. Roughly 90% of North Carolina’s farmworkers are foreign-born, and most are from Mexico and Central America.
4. The majority of farmworkers in NC earn below the poverty line, despite working long hours in physically demanding conditions.
5. More than 40% of North Carolina farmworkers live in substandard housing, often in overcrowded, poorly ventilated trailers or barracks.
6. Tobacco remains one of the most hazardous crops to harvest, exposing workers to heat stress and nicotine poisoning—called “green tobacco sickness.”
7. Farmworkers are excluded from many federal labor protections, including the right to overtime pay and, in many states, collective bargaining.
8. Climate change is shortening harvest windows, making it harder for workers to plan migration routes and secure consistent wages.
9. North Carolina is one of the top states using H-2A guestworker visas, bringing in tens of thousands of temporary agricultural workers annually.
10. Organizations like FLOC play a critical role in advocating for farmworker rights, offering mediation, translation, food assistance, and health information during extreme weather events and public health crises.