Farm Bureau Members Share Labor Challenges with Congress

Smith: U.S. agriculture is still facing an uphill battle in finding enough labor for their farms. Mike McCarthy, a specialty crop grower from Oregon, recently spent time on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., sharing his experience with this issue to members of Congress.

McCarthy: We're in a fruit growing area, and we grow apples, pears, and cherries, along with a lot of other farmers in that area. It's what you'd call labor-intensive agriculture. Most all of our work is done by hand. Over the years, we've tried to hire non-Hispanic workers in the area and that's never worked very successfully. We are 100 percent dependent on immigrant labor now.

Smith: He said one of the main topics discussed with elected officials is the steeply rising cost of labor.

McCarthy: Our big concern is the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, which seems to be escalating. This is the rate we pay agricultural workers that we bring up through the H-2A program, and that wage is escalating at a greater rate than inflation. About 60 percent of our costs are labor. With the high Adverse Effect Wage Rate, it's becoming very difficult to be profitable.

Smith: He said many lawmakers don't understand how difficult farming is right now, and that's why it's vital for farmers to speak up.

McCarthy: Commodity prices have not risen significantly in a lot of commodities over time, but our costs have increased very drastically over the last ten years, and it's becoming more and more difficult to really raise food in the United States, and I think it's a long-term conversation that we have to have.

Smith: Learn more at fb.org/labor. Chad Smith, Washington.