Janikowski: Labor Remains A Challenging Moving Target For Ag Industry

With a variety of harvest seasons heating up across the Inland Northwest, the need for labor becomes even more evident.  Dennis Janikowski, farm lending specialist with Numerica, said labor shortages can hit in a variety of ways, either meaning fruit that dos not get picked, product that’s not handled with care, or additional costs to find that needed labor.  He noted labor is so complex, and is such a challenge for even the most experienced producer; not only the struggle to find and keep quality workers, but ensuring the paperwork is filled out properly.

“The farmers themselves, and me in the financial services for farmers, we have to educate ourselves on the ever changing rules that govern the farmers, even in the banking industry, we have to see that, they understand that they have to move with the processes, and it puts on a lot of added stress to them.”

Janikowski said the H2-A program is a great example where it has altered both at the state and federal level, making it even more challenging for growers to chat the changes to the vital program.

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