With cherries kicking off the 2020 harvest season across the Northwest, more and more farm laborers will descend on the area to ensure that produce gets to market in a timely fashion. As in most years, labor is a concern for growers across the region. And adding to that concern, is the impact the coronavirus will have on available workers. When the pandemic first started, there were concerned about H2-A workers traveling across the U.S./Mexico border.

The Washington Farm Bureau’s April Clayton, a tree fruit grower from North Central Washington said that specific issue does not seem to be a problem currently. She noted her concerns about labor are more local in nature.

“What I’m worried about are the migrant crew that live in California and comes up through the coast.  We’re not seeing them as we do normally, and I don’t know if it’s because of travel or it’s a lack of beds, but there is definitely a labor shortage.  We’ve always had a labor shortage, but this year seems to be a little bit dire.”

She added strikes at packing sheds, such as those that recently took place in Yakima, will also have a big impact on growers.

“For all of the new pay raises and all of the new implementations that they have to do at the packing shed, those prices, those costs are going to get passed on to the farmer.  We have no way of rejuvenating those costs, and in the end it’s going to hurt us and our employees.  I believe everyone should be safe at their workplace, but I don’t think the strikers have thought through what their actions mean, for all of agriculture, especially for the farm workers who are out in the field.”

Clayton added another squeeze for growers comes from the grocery stores. She said as stores hire more employees to sanitize and meet new requirements, it’s having a direct impact on prices at the pack house level, which reduces the amount of month the grower sees. Which means growers in the orchard won’t see bonuses as often.



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