Pear Display Award & Limited Labor

Cherry and apricot season are here and while the weather has been cooperating nicely producers are scrambling to get enough hands to pick the fruit. Washington Growers League's Mike Gempler says it's hard enough trying to find people to work in the ag industry.

GEMPLER: We need a way to make it easy for people to come legally and do work that other people here in the U.S. don't want to do. All of the temporary visa programs that currently exist and probably that will exist in the future will always give American workers first shot at the jobs. But when you don't have enough American worker interested in those jobs then employers should be able to recruit people from other countries and do so legally and in a way that it won't break the bank.

An Idaho market has been awarded the second place price by Pear Bureau Northwest in their second annual "Pear Up with USA Pears" display contest.  The contest invited all retailers from across the U.S. and Canada to build an eye-catching display that features Green Anjou, Red Anjou, and Bosc pears at minimum, with inclusion of other varieties of USA Pears encouraged. Kesler's Market in Blackfoot, Idaho placed second and it's their second year in top 3. First place went to a local market in Minnesota.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.