Jobs Bill for Rural Washington Pt 2

Jobs Bill for Rural Washington Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. The world of farm labor is changing rapidly and more competitive than ever, making for a huge challenge for employers.

Those are just some of the topics at today's WAFLA Farm Labor Conference in Yakima, "Ahead of the Curve, Competing in a Labor Shortage" ...

DAN FAZIO ... "Oh absolutely. It is an unbelievably competitive environment. There is a huge labor shortage and that means that the worker has a choice of where they're going to work and people don't always work at the place that just pays them the most money. That's number three or four down the list for employees. So, you've got to have a compelling story of why the worker should want to come and work for you."

WAFLA Director Dan Fazio says that's information is paramount for Ag employers ...

DAN FAZIO ... "And, of course, Ahead of the Curve refers to all of the changes in the industry, all of the changes, for example, in the apple industry, how competitive the tree fruit industry is becoming. It's harder to export, a strong dollar is making exports a problem. The new political climate, this American First political climate, and we support whoever is going to be in office, we're going to work with them. So, we're going to work hard to stay ahead of the curve. Whether that staying ahead of the curve means ahead of your neighbor farmer or ahead of the trends in labor and employment that are wracking the country, that's what we're talking about."

The all-day conference is being held at the Yakima Convention Center starting at 8:30.

Previous ReportJobs Bill for Rural Washington Pt 1
Next ReportPDC Views on What's Upstream Pt1