May 2020 - 20

AG LABOR REVIEW
Amid the chaos, farmers lace up their boots for work
MICHAEL MARSH
President & CEO
National Council of
Agricultural Employers
Michael@ncaeonline.org
The only thing missing was the spooky
music from a B-movie horror film.
That's kind of what I thought to
myself as I headed into the Metro
station to come into work this morning.
Typically, hundreds of passengers
heading to and from the district throng
the escalators. Today, there was just me
and one other person heading down
and, no one coming up.
Rather eerie.
When I boarded my train, it was
more of the same. The car, usually
teeming with over 100 passengers on a
typical day, today only carried 12. And,
they were all well-spaced apart.
As I walked from my stop to the office,
I passed by stores and restaurants bearing
signs and placards saying " Closed "
or " Sorry for the Inconvenience. "
But, looking in, everything was dark.
No employees seemed to be around.
Disturbingly, it didn't appear they'd be
coming back soon.
The streets were still too. Often, you
hear the honking of horns from taxis
harassing pedestrians in the crosswalk
or one another on the streets. You
usually see buses on the avenues
loaded with passengers and hear as
drivers press on the air brakes before
rumbling on. But, not this morning.
Now that I think of it, I don't even
recall the sounds of birds tweeting as I
walked along, and there was very little
breeze to rustle the leaves still left on
the sidewalk.
The familiarity of the front door to
Reduce
Labor!
my building gave me some comfort. So,
too, did the beep of the security system
as I let myself in and headed to the
elevator. The entry was quiet but that
was typical. Few others arrive in our
offices before 9 a.m. but not all of them
work with farmers.
I set about to work, catching up on
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overnight emails and planning for
our conference call later in the day.
I composed a couple of notes to the
Department of Labor and our friends at
USDA. I, likewise, spent time reviewing
materials forwarded to me by a law firm.
As I grabbed a cup of coffee around
10:15 a.m., I heard one of my suitemates
striding down the hall. He's a bit noisy.
I had a chance to say hi, to which he
responded as he headed out the door on
his way to someplace else. Then I was
alone in the office once again.
Our office houses 16 people. With
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20 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
travel schedules and out-of-office
meetings being what they are, we
usually have about 10 people there
every day. But, not today.
Something had changed.
The World Health Organization was
calling it a global pandemic, the breadth
and scope of which I have never seen.
People were being directed to hunker
down and not interact directly. In fact,
they were being encouraged to telework.
Conference calls were okay but inperson
meetings should be avoided.
Travel plans could be rearranged.
As I returned to my desk, a lot of
different thoughts were running around
in my head. Most of my thoughts
turned to what this meant for the
farmers and ranchers I work with. What
must this mean for them?
Agricultural labor shortages have
grown endemic. Endemic to the point
that workers from foreign countries are
annually recruited for temporary positions
in the U.S. These workers are critical
as they augment the too few domestic
workers who apply for and accept jobs
working on farms and ranches.
Absent a workforce, crops don't get
planted, nurtured and harvested and
food goes to waste.
In the face of this pandemic,
will workers be able to get to their
jobs whether they are domestic or
temporary foreign workers? How can
we keep workers spaced in the fields
and orchards so that someone feeling
ill doesn't share with the individual
working alongside them? What do
we do if someone exhibits symptoms
and how distant is the medical care
necessary to treat the worker?
Absent a workforce,
crops don't get planted,
nurtured and harvested
and food goes to waste.
With all of the uncertainty and
craziness swirling around, I knew that
two things were certain.
Farmers and ranchers would wake up
each morning, lace up their boots and
head out the door to greet another day
so that Americans won't have to search
for food. I also knew that the National
Council of Agricultural Employers was
backing them up so they could do what
they do best.
I finished my coffee and relished the
quiet of my lonely office. And, like the
people I work with, greeted the day and
got back to work. VGN

http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com

May 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2020