$3.1B is lost each year as farms are unable to plant, harvest or process their crops due to the labor shortage. Just about every grower I know has a heartbreaking story of having to leave their crops unpicked. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would
Allow farmworkers to seek legal status in the US
Make the H2A program more flexible
Require e-verify (though thankfully only after providing legal status to existing workers)
Does this sound familiar? The season is about to start and you need to onboard over 50+ employees every day. The process is long and exhausting.
Read MoreGanaz is taking Employee surveys to the next level. Now you can compare how your workforce survey results measure up to the average of all the companies who sign up for Industry Benchmarking with Ganaz.
Read MoreDo you want to start doing workforce surveys but don't know where to start? Here are 10 useful tips to get you started.
Read MoreWhat is the secret sauce to workforce engagement in agriculture? Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce tell us how they use increased two-way communication to motivate and engage their farm workers.
Read MoreThe Ag industry has one of the highest turnover rates. That's why understanding the attitudes, challenges and feelings of farm workers is essential to your business.
Read MoreProduce may move to a location where it seems like there’s plentiful labor and within a matter of a few years there’s a lot of competition for labor and it becomes more scarce. So we’re trying to figure out how to attract and retain employees, and one of the best ways to do that…
Read MoreTwo Driscoll’s Executives, Brian McElroy, the VP of Global Ethics and Standards, and Kelley Bell, VP of Social and Environmental Impact, took some time to talk about the current labor dynamic in agriculture and the associated opportunities and challenges for the industry.
Read MoreIn the wake of the failed Senate attempts, President Trump is now backing U.S. House Rep. Bob Goodlatte’s solution which mandates e-verify and overhauls the H2A program. Goodlatte’s bill addresses DACA, funds border security, ends chain migration, ends the visa lottery, and replaces the H2A program with the new H2C program.
Read MoreKristin Snapp of Domex Superfresh Growers has orchard work in her blood. She was just eleven years old when her dad told her to drive his truck....without any instructions other than to keep it out of the Roza Canal. At the age of twelve her first job was pruning fireblight out of a block of baby pear trees. The trees are no longer alive, but Kristin went on to have a big impact on the apple industry in eastern Washington, including serving as the Chair of the Government Affairs Committee of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
Read MoreAs the #MeToo movement continues to spread and more survivors give voice to their experiences with sexual harassment, everyone from movie executives to farm owners are asking: How can we prevent this from happening in the future?
Read MoreOn November 16, 2017, the USDA released its October 2017 survey data detailing that average wages for all hired workers are up 3% year-over-year and the national average for field worker wages is now $12.51/hour.
Read MoreWest Mathison started his career in agriculture at the age of six, pulling weeds in the Stemilt nursery. As he grew up, he gained experience running crews in the orchards and supporting human resources during college.
Read MoreAndrew & Williamson’s Amalia Lommel has been deeply involved in agricultural human resources issues during her 24 years at the company. As the Director of Social Responsibility, she's helped lead cultural change initiatives as well as the company's involvement with EFI and Fair Trade USA. A&W grows berries in California and Mexico and grows tomatoes and cucumbers in Mexico. Amalia shared with us some of the insights she's gained as A&W blazes new trails in human resources management.
Read MoreThe Net Promoter Score was introduce by Fred Reicheld in 2003 after several years of customer satisfaction research. Reicheld found that not only could you reduce your customer satisfaction surveys to a single question, but you could also use it to predict growth. “In fact, in most of the industries that I studied, the percentage of customers who were enthusiastic enough to refer a friend or colleague—perhaps the strongest sign of customer loyalty—correlated directly with differences in growth rates among competitors.”
Read MoreThe Agricultural Guestworker Act (AG Act or H2C) would replace the H2A program and allow an additional 500,000 non-residents to work year-round on US farms and ranches.
Read MoreOn Saturday, as sexual harassment continued to make national headlines, the Yakima Herald brought the issue home to the agricultural community in WA state. The article pointed out the challenges with farmworkers reporting harassment, and mentioned some resources for prevention
Read MoreWith a new bombshell dropping nearly every day implicating celebrities, politicians and business leaders in sexual harassment, employers may be starting to break a sweat. Agriculture isn’t exempt. In fact, female farmworkers are especially vulnerable with 60 percent reporting having experienced sexual harassment.
Read MoreA report in Rural Migration News describes the four strategies agricultural employers are using to address the labor shortage: satisfy, stretch, substitute, and supplement.
Read MoreAs of April 2017, only six states in the US report average farmworker wages below $12/hour--AR, LA, MS, GA, SC and AL. This USDA wage survey data includes field workers, livestock workers, and other roles like tractor drivers. For all farm labor, the US average is now $13.23/hour.
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