Everett Griner talks about farm labor continuing to be a problem in today’s Agri View.
An adequate supply of migrant labor is still a serious problem for agriculture, especially in the south. Our new 
administration has nothing to do with it although it isn’t any better. The solution was supposed to be the H-2A Program where a farmer could personally hire all of the help he needed. The H-2A takes time and it cost a lot of money. Certain wage levels, good housing, safety standards. All come at a stiff cost for farmers. And remember before you can use H-2A you have to try to find all of the local help you can. And finally, there is a limit to how many workers can be hired under H-2A. What is the solution? Somebody inventing the machine that can pick tomatoes, cut cabbage, and load cantaloupes. Only then will the labor problem cease.
That’s Agri View for today. I’m Everett Griner…
Image credit (top right): Kern County, CA – May 6, 2015: Mexican-American farm workers are hoeing between rows of potatoes on this large Central California farm. Photo ID: 275647415 by Richard Thornton/Shutterstock
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