Absolutely no reason for farmers not to have to craft appealing jobs at appealing wages like every other sector of our economy.
More automation undoubtedly is in order, but also simply a free market that rewards those farmers who match their jobs to the low-skill labor demand.
This is exactly it, and something I pointed out in an article a few years ago: support for illegal immigration is really just another form of crony capitalism.
Automation is exploding in the fruit packing industry as well as out on the farms. People in agriculture aren't stupid. They are automating to reduce the amount of labor and the cost of labor and putting the investment into technology. If one looks at the labor needs of agriculture, then one will notice that labor needs are being reduced at an ever increasing rate.