2009 Harvest Hanging In The Balance

As harvest season approaches for many growers, there are some lingering questions about this year’s potential workforce shortage and how it will affect your operation and the entire fruit industry. To address some of these concerns, we asked Karen Lewis, Extension educator with Washington State University in Ephrata, WA, five questions about labor supplies and conditions this year.

1. What is one thing growers can do to find new sources of labor this year?

I assume that means people who have not worked in agriculture? If so, my answer is to pay higher wages and create a work environment and work conditions that are significantly better than where they are working now. It is a very tight labor market in most places in the U.S. and we are competing with all industries for employees. Be creative and competitive.

Short of that, explore your options with H-2A and other local, state, or federal recruitment programs. In fact, you should make the effort to use government agencies in addition to your normal sources. Government reports are the only labor status documentation that is utilized in determining public policy.

2. What is one thing growers can do to keep their current workers employed at their farm?

Ask your employees what they need and what they want. If that seems daunting, then ask a few people who have earned their place to speak on the crew’s behalf. Specifics will make or break the process; you need to be specific in your questions and ask them to be specific in their answers. Your goal is to leave the conversation with a long list of wants and needs — some will be easy to deliver, others will be a challenge, and some might not be possible at all. Some will be tangible and require deliverables and money — others will be less tangible.

When I have the opportunity to ask employees what they need and want, I get the above-mentioned list. However, over time and as trust builds, I get to the one answer they all want to give — respect. All people in all occupations want to be respected and valued for their contribution to a job well done. While I don’t want to sound hardened, the dollar doesn’t buy as much today as it did even a year ago and respect doesn’t put food on the table or gas in the tank. Therefore I believe that while everyone wants respect, they also want to have a level of financial security, and the respect of providing for their families.

This new economy might create a new list of wants and needs. Some will be the same as yesteryear, others will be new. Growers and management need to create an environment where everyone is respected for their contribution. There are creative and “free” ways to demonstrate sincere respect. Put those on your list. If you are not sure what words and actions will demonstrate respect and value, ask your employees. They will tell you what moves the needle for them.

Openly communicate with all employees. Fruit grower Mitch Lynd has championed for unfiltered feedback from our consumers; employers should seek one-on-one unfiltered feedback from their employees.

3. What can growers do to offset the problems created by the possibility of another labor shortage this year?

They need to have a plan. They need to sharpen their pencils and put numbers to the many possible scenarios. What crops or tasks can I afford to let go? What should be left unpicked, partially harvested, lightly thinned, summer pruned, etc., and what crops must be harvested, thinned heavy, or pruned to maintain quality? This might not be the year where everything gets done, or gets done on time.

However, it is also not the year to grow low-quality fruit and attempt to put it on the market. Do not lower your quality standards or the standards set by your industry. Know where your greatest potential returns are and stay focused on them. Deliberate and comprehensive (and accurate) assessments now, and again as the season progresses, will better position the owner and the total operation when faced with difficult decisions this fall. There are organizations aggressively managing their labor-related outcomes — they cannot afford for someone else to make a decision or take action on their behalf. Don’t act powerless; fully engage and ensure that the outcome meets the minimum needs of your family and employees. Good decisions are based on good — accurate — information.

4. What are the implications (for individual growers and the industry as a whole) of another year of fruit left hanging on the tree in many orchards?

I would suggest that another year with 20% of the crop left unpicked and unsold would be the tipping point for a number of operations. Fruit left on the tree is worth zero. A grower’s financial situation and their ability to make wise business decisions will determine how hard they can get squeezed and for how long. I think that this scenario has to be played out on paper now; knowing what the worst-case scenario is and the impact on financial health measurements is a great step toward building plans. Collectively, we become a smaller community if one or several hundred growers cannot make it another year. Everyone loses when a grower and his family must leave the business. We also lose if that land is taken out of production or its natural resource base.

On the other hand, we know that in most years, a smaller crop means higher prices for those who deliver fruit to market. A large or normal crop with a high percentage of low-quality and low-grade fruit hurts everyone.

5. What do you feel is the best route to attaining meaningful labor reform?

Industry leadership and individuals have done an excellent job with educating policy makers of our labor requirements. They are knocking on doors as I write this. If there is a best route, that’s the best place to begin.

I am not fully convinced that we will have meaningful reform. We need to recognize that labor shortages have occurred throughout the world since the beginning of time. In the here and now, the shortage of seasonal labor is a rapidly increasing global problem. And while the shortage of seasonal labor is an immediate concern, we need to spend some of our time and effort researching and adopting long-term, sustainable solutions.

With high-value specialty crop industries and organizations working together on a national level, I know that we will find solutions. There will be engineering solutions, plant systems solutions, financial solutions, political, policy, and social solutions. Increasing per-hour productivity of the existing workforce through automation will be one solution. When this opportunity presents itself, we might have to deal with another “labor shortage” — that is, finding enough employees willing to become technicians and trouble shooters with math, computer, and mechanical skills to keep sophisticated equipment operational. I end with this quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”