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Labor uncertainty facing pork industry

Officials in the pork industry are concerned an already shallow labor pool is getting smaller.

Matthew Grill, senior director of Congressional relations with the National Pork Producers Council, says the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration is creating uncertainty.

“I think there’s a lot of concern in the countryside just about how the president’s focus on immigration is going to play out and what that means for programs that are on the book, and the potential for new avenues for strong legal labor.”  He says, “I think there’s still a lot of unknowns in that respect.”

Josh Maschhoff, president of the Illinois Pork Producers Association, says finding local labor is a challenge.

“The state minimum wage increasing obviously has been a little bit of a challenge, but even in spite of that, finding local work, even if you’re paying well above the minimum wage, has been a little bit difficult,” he says.

He tells Brownfield many producers have found qualified workers through the TN visa program.

“People from either Mexico, or Canada, that come here with a four-year degree, a high level of education that are very much prideful and passionate about their work.”  He says, “Having people that are applying to that process legally and coming into this country is very much a resource that we need.”

Both say the lack of an available, skilled workforce hampers the pork industry’s ability to grow to meet increasing consumer demand and threatens the nation’s food supply.

AUDIO: Josh Mashhoff – IL Pork Producers president