ag labor

Dairy farmers have a bright outlook for 2022 with higher milk prices and demand. Jeff Lyon, General Manager at Farm First Dairy Cooperative, said milk prices look good to start the year. “Well, right now, I say when you're sitting here and looking at milk prices, so you know, traditionally, we'd have that November-December holidays kind of into January-February demand down, and you look at where

Agricultural output in the United States nearly tripled between 1948 and 2017 even as the amount of labor hours-worked declined by more than 80%. According USDA’s Economic Research Service the opposing trends resulted in an increase in labor productivity growth in the U.S. fa ...

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said a federal vaccine mandate on non-U.S. citizens traveling to the United States will lead to more supply chain issues. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced enforcement of the vaccine requirement, which includes essential workers, traveling to the United States ...

As producers look to a new growing season, several issues remain unresolved, chief among them is the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Because of delays in D.C., the Adverse Effect Wage Rate is forecast to increase to $17.41 an hour this year ...

While it may not have been a “normal year”, 2021 was good for farmers, according to American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Roger Cryan. And Cryan said 2022 is continuing with the “not normal” theme, as issues from the past two years pour into the New Year. “The pandemic is no ...

Regardless of the size of your operation, Oregon FFA Treasure JW Dippold says its important to share the daily impact your experience. If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekmedia... Read More ...

As lawmakers start a new year in Washington D.C., one of the biggest questions the farming community is hoping to see addressed revolves around Ag labor and immigration reform. Dan Newhouse, coauthor of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, said despite passing the House, the legislation has stalled in the Senate, primarily because President Biden’s Build Back Better contains some provisions to a

Recovering from the global COVID-19 pandemic is proving difficult for all industries, and the nation’s dairy farmers are no different. Pressure points were aligned at both ends of the supply chain. Dairy processors had to make changes in how they market product both domestically and internationally, while on the farm, producers struggled to find labor to help run their operations. The ... Read M

One of the major challenges for dairy farmers is getting workers on the farm. Michigan State University field educator Stan Moore recently spoke at the Farm Journal’s MILK Business Conference, discussing labor issues. Moore said labor issues may be a new development for the U.S. economy ...

Two weeks ago, November 30th, the Oregon Law Center filed a suit over agricultural overtime in the state. Mary Anne Cooper, Vice President of Public Policy at the Oregon Farm Bureau, said they were floored by the lawsuit. “Because we had come to a workgroup that legislators convened last month in good faith and had been working through that process, we had growers participating, sharing confident