April 2023 - 8

LABOR
Growers change plans to make up for
labor shortage
BY CHRIS KOGER
MANAGING EDITOR
T
he labor situation facing
specialty crop growers in the
U.S. can be illustrated with a
single number: 371,619.
That's the number of H-2A
temporary visas certified by the
federal government in fiscal year
2022, and according to Jason
Resnick, the " meteoric " rise in
field and orchard workers in the
program tells the true story of how
a shortage of laborers is affecting
fruit and vegetable growers.
Resnick, the senior vice president
and general counsel of Western
Growers, said the sharp increase
in H-2A requests that farmers filed
and were granted by the Department
of Labor - an increase of more
than 300% in the last decade and a
doubling over the last five years -
shows the severity of an ag labor
shortage in the U.S.
Florida leads in the number of
H-2A workers, but California (and
Washington) is leading the growth
spurt, with an increase of 17% last
year, Resnick said. Western Growers
serves fresh produce growers in
California, Arizona and Colorado.
" The domestic workers that are
here (in the U.S.), they don't follow
the crop, they're not migratory. They
typically followed the crop, but now
they settle in communities and raise
a family, " Resnick said. " And that
domestic workforce is aging with
an average age in the low- to mid40s.
The (average) H-2A worker is in
their 20s. "
A recent online survey conducted
by Vegetable Growers News
received responses from throughout
the U.S., with the majority of
participants from California, New
York, Michigan and Washington.
" The labor is here, but it comes
8 | APRIL 2023
YES
Did you have enough labor?
YES - 43%
NO - 57%
YES
NO
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Source: VGN 2023 Specialty Ag Labor Survey
If you were short, did you have to leave
crops in the field/orchard?
YES - 61%
NO
NO - 39%
Source: VGN 2023 Specialty Ag Labor Survey
at a steep price, " Resnick said,
referring to the H-2A program.
Working harder, longer
Of the 222 survey participants,
43% said they had enough labor
in 2022; 57% said they didn't.
As a consequence, 61% (of 122
respondents) had to leave fruits
and vegetables in the orchards
and fields.
Of 215 respondents, 35% said they
use the H-2A program.

April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2023

April 2023 - 1
April 2023 - 2
April 2023 - 3
April 2023 - 4
April 2023 - 5
April 2023 - 6
April 2023 - 7
April 2023 - 8
April 2023 - 9
April 2023 - 10
April 2023 - 11
April 2023 - 12
April 2023 - 13
April 2023 - 14
April 2023 - 15
April 2023 - 16
April 2023 - 17
April 2023 - 18
April 2023 - 19
April 2023 - 20
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April 2023 - 27
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April 2023 - 31
April 2023 - 32
April 2023 - 33
April 2023 - 34
April 2023 - 35
April 2023 - 36
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/vgn-digital-seed-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-august
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/vgn-digital-seed-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyers-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/seedguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/buyersguide-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/VGN/january-2019
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