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Once labor hits X, growers say they’re out
An apple grower says many U.S. specialty crops are phasing out as labor costs become unmanageable.
Chris Kropf tells Brownfield farmers using the H-2A guest worker program have no idea what their labor costs could be from year to year with Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) increases.
“There’s been a few growers out there that has set a mark on if AEWR gets to a certain amount per hour that they’re going to consider doing something else, which is a shame because there’s a huge investment in all these farms,” he shares. “We’re already seeing this occur in some of the big vegetable operations.”
On his fourth-generation farm in West Michigan, Kropf says he’s holding back 25 acres from new tree plantings.
“We don’t quite have the revenue and it takes at least $40,000 an acre to put a tree in the ground,” he explains.
Kropf recently hosted a roundtable of specialty crop growers calling for solutions and the launch of the Protect Our Produce Coalition.
“As long as we stay profitable, that’s all we need,” he says. “It’s a very, very expensive business and it takes a lot of money and a lot of capital to keep up on expensive equipment and pallet bins and trucks and transportation and input costs.”
Congressman John Moolenar attended the event and in a statement to Brownfield says his bipartisan Supporting Farm Operations Act would provide farmers with relief from the wage mandates. A similar Republican bill has also been introduced in the U.S. Senate. Both have been referred to Judiciary Committees.
In the last decade the U.S. has lost more than 454,000 acres of fruit (citrus and non-citrus bearing) and 60,000 acres of vegetable production.
AUDIO: Chris Kropf
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