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Farmers elevate ag labor shortage crisis through national Grow It Here initiative

A new national coalition says it plans to amplify the impacts of ag labor shortages and the need for long-term farm workforce solutions.

Brandon Raso is a fourth-generation blueberry grower from New Jersey.

“We’re all in different commodities,” he says. “We’re all in different states for the most part, and this problem echoes and radiates throughout the entire farming community in America.”

He says American farmers can’t compete with imported products in the current environment, and crops are going unharvested.

“Alls we’re asking is to be recognized that this crisis is real,” he shares. “It’s unfortunately too late for some farms, but the writing’s on the wall for those of us who are still in business.”

Tracy Vinz grows 100 acres of organic produce in central Wisconsin.

“Without the H-2A crew that we have, we wouldn’t be able to farm, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t want a farm,” she says. “My farm has been in my husband’s family for four generations. We struggle every day with, ‘Are we going to be able to keep this going?’”

Wisconsin dairy farmer John Rosenow milks 700 cows in Waumandee and says dairy is unfortunately excluded from the H-2A program.

“Right now in Wisconsin, about 90 percent of the milk that’s harvested every day from the cows is harvested by immigrants,” he says. “Without these immigrants, we would struggle, well, we wouldn’t exist.”

Matt Teagarden with the Kansas Livestock Association tells Brownfield he’s hopeful there could be potential relief from the current administration.

“The president has said multiple times here over the last several months that there’s need to address the ag workforce and some kind of work permit program in agriculture, and a couple of other industry segments,” he says. “I think that’s encouraging.”

Third-generation North Carolina apple grower Linda Pryor says the success of farms is deeply intertwined with farmworkers and their well-being.

“With farming, you’re spending extremely long days, usually having all three meals of the day together, so it’s much more of a family feel than an employee, an employer feel,” she explains. “I know that I have to have them. The success of my farm depends on them.”

Grow it Here advisor and former USDA & White House Trump admin ag labor advisor Kristi Boswell says significant reforms need to be led by the Department of Labor to improve the H-2A program and other regulations.

Research by Michigan State University finds that half of all farms can’t hire all the workers they want, with the average farm experiencing a 20 percent workforce deficit.