According to the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, California farmers are once again experiencing labor supply shortages. In an effort to better understand what is going on at the grassroots level, the California Farm Bureau Federation wants local farmers to fill out a short online survey.
“In 2012, nearly two-thirds of farmers who responded to a similar survey said that they experienced challenges finding enough employees to tend and harvest crops,” said SCCFB Executive Director Jennifer Scheer.
The results from the survey will provide information to push Congress to take action on immigration reform, Scheer added.
The survey consists of six questions that require a response and three that are optional and can be found online at www.cfbf.com/laborsurvey
Nearly 800 famers and ranchers responded to the survey in 2012. Some of the key points from that survey were:
• Sixty-one percent of total respondents said they experienced worker shortages of varying degrees
• Among famers who grew labor-intensive crops – tree fruits, vegetables, table grapes, raisins and berries – 71 percent reported employee shortages
• To deal with workforce shortages, farmers offered higher wages, delayed pruning and harvesting, used mechanization if possible or did not harvest some of their crop
• Although widespread crop losses did not occur in 2012, 19 percent of farmers responding to the survey reported planting fewer acres, not harvesting a portion of their crop or giving up leased land because of a lack of available harvest help.
