Ag Labor Shortages Hurting Farmers, Pushing Holiday Prices Up, Report Says

A Grow It Here report released Monday indicates the agricultural labor shortages impacting the American farm industry is impacting producers and pushing prices higher for traditional Thanksgiving foods.  The report added those labor shortages are accelerating the financial strain facing America’s family farms.

According to the findings, farms across the country are struggling to secure the skilled, reliable workforce needed to harvest crops, care for livestock, and maintain year-round operations.  As labor shortages worsen, growers are facing higher production costs, reduced yields, and in some cases, the difficult decision to scale back or abandon crops altogether.

Grow It Here says these significant disruptions will result in domestic food production instability and higher prices for U.S. consumers.  The report looked at a host of holiday products, including many Northwest commodities, such as apples, potatoes, cranberries and wine.

“The food that we enjoy to celebrate Thanksgiving does not just happen. It is planted, cared for, harvested and delivered by people whose contributions deserve to be as much a part of the conversation as the recipes themselves,” said Linda Pryor, Grow It Here Spokesperson and Farm Manager of Hilltop Apple Farm in Hendersonville, NC. "When farms do not have enough employees to plant, harvest, and process the crops, the effects show up at the grocery store." 

Click Here to read that entire report.

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