To address rising labor costs, growers are turning to other production and management strategies to keep their expenses in check. fruit and vegetable farm operators are having difficulty finding enough workers to fill their needs in a tight labor market, so farm wages are rising at a faster rate than non-farm wages. Labor’s share of the cost of production can run as high as 38 percent for fruit and tree nut farms and 29 percent for vegetables and melons. That means hired labor is a critical component of the fruit and vegetable sectors. To produce fruits and vegetables in the United States, a human touch is required to sort, pot, and plant seedlings, train young plants and prune older ones, and harvest and pack the crops for shipping. Marketers of fresh fruit and vegetables are increasing imports, and larger firms are establishing production facilities overseas. Responding to labor shortages, growers are opting to reduce production or switch to crops that require less labor. Producers are using machines to increase productivity or to replace workers in some instances. fruit and vegetable growers face, and farm wages are rising at a faster rate than non-farm wages.Īs producers find it more difficult to hire enough workers to meet their labor needs, they are relying more on the H-2A guest worker program for laborers.
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