Page 32 2024 Fall Farm Outlook Lincoln Daily News Oct 2024 that efforts to recruit U.S. workers were not successful. The program is very heavily used, however. This is a sign of just how much farmers are in need of labor. The same USDA article states, “one of the clearest indicators of the scarcity of farm labor is the fact that the number of H-2A positions requested and approved has increased more than sevenfold in the past 17 years, from just over 48,000… in fiscal 2005 to around 371,000 in fiscal year 2022.” Clearly, the agriculture industry is in dire need of labor. There are several things you can do to try to find help, such as increasing your search area, even as far as foreign labor. Even if you are not a farmer looking for workers, keep some of what you learned here in mind and thank a farmer the next time you can for keeping farm-fresh products on your dinner plate even through these kinds of struggles. [Matt Boutcher] Resources: https://www.agriculture.com/farmmanagement/estate-planning/helpwanted-how-farmers-are-tackling-a-laborshortage#:~:text=Finding%20reliable%20 labor%20has%20become,paid%20jobs%20 in%20other%20industries https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/ economy/2021/07/03/labor-shortage-farm-agindustry-fill-positions-open-jobs/7852447002/ https://www.fbfs.com/learning-center/how-torecruit-new-employees-for-your-agriculturebusiness https://www.ilfb.org/opinion/agricultureneeds-a-stable-workforce-in-2024/ https://www.croptracker.com/blog/laborshortages-in-agriculture-the-trends-andsolutions#:~:text=How%20the%20Farm%20 Labor%20Shortage,to%20attract%20and%20 keep%20talent. https://www.newsweek.com/us-farmingcrisis-h2a-visa-reform-labor-shortage1878530#:~:text=Labor%20shortages%20 in%20agriculture%20have,left%20in%20 fields%20post%2Dharvest. https://www.fsa.usda.gov/farmworkers https://www.fbfs.com/learning-center/how-torecruit-new-employees-for-your-agriculturebusiness https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/wpcontent/uploads/2022/06/NAWS-data-factsheet-FINAL.docx-3.pdf https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/ feeding-america-how-immigrantssustain-us-agriculture#:~:text=9%5D- ,Undocumented%20Versus%20Legal%20 Farmworkers,highest%20proportion%20 of%20undocumented%20workers. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farmeconomy/farm-labor/#h2a
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