Improving Mechanical Harvesting of Fresh-Market Blueberries

Web AdminBerries, Labor, Technology, Top Posts, VSCNews magazine

By Fumiomi Takeda The growth of the blueberry industry in the past three decades has been remarkably robust. For the blueberry industry to remain competitive and sustainable, growers are seeking solutions to ever-increasing problems with labor shortages and rising labor costs for harvesting blueberries by hand. More growers are now using over-the-row (OTR) mechanical harvesters to pick blueberries for the …

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UF Researcher to Study Migration Trends, Health of Emerging Farm Workers

Web AdminIndustry News Release, Labor

As the University of Florida IFAS Extension director for Hendry County, Gene McAvoy has seen firsthand a sea change in the types of workers now coming to the United States to work on farms. “It used to be 95 percent or more of the workers were from Mexico,” McAvoy said. “Now, it’s about 50 percent from Haiti and the Caribbean. …

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Election Day Commentary: Career Politicians or Dedicated Public Servants?

Web AdminAgri-business, Fruit, Labor, Tomatoes, Trade, Vegetables, Watermelon

By Gary Cooper, Founder/President AgNet Media Sometimes the timing of events can really make us think. Over the weekend, our nation lost one of its greatest public servants. Senator John McCain was nothing less than a statesman his entire adult life. Not once in all the recent news media coverage did I see him referred to as a “career politician.” …

Immigration Reform Impacting Agriculture

Web AdminBusiness, Labor, Legislative, Top Posts

By Tacy Callies and Ernie Neff At the recent general session of Citrus Expo, AgSafe President and CEO Amy Wolfe discussed emerging issues in ag labor and food safety. One of the topics she covered was the federal Ag and Legal Workforce Act that was introduced in Congress on July 18. The new bill is an effort to combine the …

Yoho Introduces an Ag-Only Guest Worker Bill

Web AdminLabor, Legislative, Top Posts

In the midst of a farm bill being finalized, labor is still top of mind for U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho. In mid-July, he visited AgNet Media to discuss imperative agricultural legislation. There is currently a bill for agricultural labor, Rep. Goodlatte’s AG Act. Yoho says it’s a good bill and he could support it. However, he is pushing for his …

Florida Farmers Advocate for Ag

Web AdminFarm Bill, Labor, Legislative, NAFTA, Top Posts

This past week, Florida Farm Bureau Federation (FFBF) held its annual Field to the Hill fly-in event, where Florida farmers had the opportunity to fly to Washington, D.C., and speak to their legislators about issues they are facing in the Florida agricultural industry. AgNet Media’s Abbey Taylor was able to tag along with the Farm Bureau members and witness firsthand …

Challenges Remain for Legal Agricultural Workforce

Web AdminLabor, Legislative, Top Posts

By Brian German The United States continues to have challenges related to establishing a secure, legal agricultural workforce. Many growers and industry groups are calling for significant change to current immigration policies and ag worker programs. For Chalmers Carr, owner of Titan Farms in Ridge Springs, South Carolina, the H-2A program has been fairly helpful to his operation. “After being …

Crop Insurance, Immigration Debate Critical for Produce Industry

Web AdminLabor, Legislative, Top Posts

Crop insurance and the current immigration debate continue to be hot topics in the fruit and vegetable industry. Robert Guenther, senior vice president of public policy for the United Fresh Produce Association, recently discussed these issues with AgNet Media Founder and President Gary Cooper. They spoke during the recent Crop Insurance Industry Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. “There’s diverse opinions on …

Florida Farm Bureau Closely Monitoring AG Act

Web AdminLabor, Legislative, Top Posts

John Walt Boatright, national affairs coordinator for Florida Farm Bureau, recently gave a presentation at the Florida Agricultural Policy Outlook Conference on the immigration debate happening in Washington, D.C. “Florida Farm Bureau has been monitoring the current immigration debate primarily because of the inclusion of Chairman Goodlatte’s Agricultural Guestworker Act, also known as the AG Act,” Boatright said. The AG …

E-Verify Could Mean Trouble for Growers

Web AdminLabor, Legislative, Top Posts

E-Verify was once a part of U.S. Congressman Goodlatte’s Agriculture Guestworker Act (AG Act), but now E-Verify is a standalone piece of legislation. According to Amy Wolfe, president and CEO of AgSafe, this separation could mean trouble for growers. Wolfe compares E-Verify to a digital I-9 form. “It’s (e-verify) the online, instant feedback equivalent to I-9. We’ve all filled out …