Seasonal

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Local workers applying as Queensland farmers are forced to up wages

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Feb-01 Mon 13:30
2021-Feb-01 Mon 13:30
2868

Due to the critical labour shortages, Queensland farmers are forced to pay higher wages and provide better conditions, in the hope to attract local workers. The improved conditions come amid warnings of higher prices for consumers as food is left unpicked. Bundaberg lychee grower Craig van Rooyen said…

Helping the food supply chain to find critical workers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-18 Mon 09:11
2021-Jan-18 Mon 09:11
2748

The newly launched, Association of Labour Providers ‘Extra Workers Needed Portal’ supports the food supply chain to address critical worker shortages. A short demonstration video may be viewed here. Despite rising unemployment figures, ALP’s recent labour supply survey identified that 92% of food growers…

Victoria growers forced to dump $150,000 worth of celery due to labor shortage

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-15 Fri 06:16
2021-Jan-15 Fri 06:16
2728

Growers in Victoria's Lindenow Valley have had to dump $150,000 worth of celery crops. They were simply unable to harvest the vegetables due to a drastic shortage of seasonal workers. The crops have to be picked within a short timeframe to meet supermarket certification, but COVID-19 travel bans have led…

Delayed arrival of migrant workers worries Niagara greenhouse growers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-13 Wed 13:19
2021-Jan-13 Wed 13:19
2710

New requirements of air travellers to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result before boarding a plane to Canada are proving to be a barrier for temporary foreign workers from Mexico. Announced Dec. 31, the Transport Canada regulations came into effect Jan. 7, leaving some Niagara greenhouse…

Australian fruit and vegetable growers warn of price rises due to labour shortages

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-04 Mon 13:30
2021-Jan-04 Mon 13:30
2643

Despite warnings of food shortages and price rises because of a severe shortage of workers, no state government has come to the table with a plan to bring foreign fruit pickers safely into Australia. Besides, just 355 unemployed Australians have joined the federal program that will see them reimbursed up…

UK ministers to treble number of foreign fruit and veg pickers to counter harvesting problems

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-21 Mon 11:04
2020-Dec-21 Mon 11:04
2582

UK ministers are set to treble the number of foreign workers allowed into the country to pick fruit and vegetables, hoping to ease fears of rotting harvests as a result of Brexit. Some 30,000 temporary staff will be given permits in 2021, up from 10,000 this year, under a document circulated for an…

Growers look to retain piece rate work despite union push for minimum wages

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-17 Thu 13:30
2020-Dec-17 Thu 13:30
2541

Australian growers are pushing back against union moves to see minimum wage rates granted to fruit pickers and seasonal workers. The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) announced on Wednesday that it would apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to have the horticulture award amended to ensure workers…

Australia agrees to let seasonal workers in

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-11 Fri 11:15
2020-Dec-11 Fri 11:15
2468

Fruit farmers have been forced to destroy their crops or leave them to rot, given a severe labour hole blown open by the pandemic. The government estimates the industry requires an injection of 26,000 fruit pickersThe Prime Minister confirmed national cabinet had made a bilateral agreement to “unlock”…

National Lost Crop Register launched

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-11 Fri 11:15
2020-Dec-11 Fri 11:15
2466

A National Lost Crop Register enabling horticulture growers around Australia to anonymously record crops that have gone to waste because of a lack of seasonal labour. The National Farmers' Federation Horticulture Council says more than 30 growers have already reported crop losses, worth more than $22…

Purple Brussels sprouts added to product line

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-08 Tue 13:30
2020-Dec-08 Tue 13:30
2413

Alpine Fresh, grower, packer, and shipper of fresh fruits and vegetables, has added purple Brussels sprouts to its product line. This new commodity is being offered alongside the company’s green Brussels sprouts program. These purple gems pack a different color and slight change in flavor profile in comparison…

Australian fruit pickers face ‘outrageous’ exploitation

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-04 Fri 13:30
2020-Dec-04 Fri 13:30
2380

With backpackers and those on working holiday visas failed to turn up this year, mostly due to the pandemic, in effect so did a large part of Australia’s seasonal workforce. Lacking as many as 30,000 workers this season, some farmers may have little choice but to walk away from millions of dollars-worth…

"Packaging asparagus is not a challenge in itself - the short season is"

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-03 Thu 14:54
2020-Dec-03 Thu 14:54
2351

Traditionally, the asparagus season is short and intensive: the first goods -produced via heated cultivation- will arrive at the market at the end of February at the earliest, and by June 24th at the latest, the whole thing is over again. This is precisely why it is so important that asparagus processing…

📺 Fruit-picking robot might cover Goulburn Valley seasonal worker gap

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Nov-30 Mon 11:14
2020-Nov-30 Mon 11:14
2291

Robot fruit picker ‘Clive’ will be working on two Goulburn Valley properties to see if it is a commercially viable alternative to human labour. The machine was built by Australian company Ripe Robotics. It will be put to the test in the orchards of Turnbull Brothers and HV McNab and Son, near Shepparton,…

Growers notice concerning workforce trends amid Australian horticulture labour shortage

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Nov-20 Fri 08:36
2020-Nov-20 Fri 08:36
2185

A table grape grower in Victoria says the COVID-19 pandemic has created a generation of "job hoppers" who are pushing for better conditions and pay, which is further compounding the labour shortage problems faced by the industry. Owner of Budou Farms, Enrique Rossi says he is finding workers who are…

📅 Federal government seeks input on TFW program’s ag stream requirements

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Nov-10 Tue 15:11
2020-Nov-10 Tue 15:11
2107

To aid in establishing minimum requirements for employer-provided accommodations for the TFW Program across Canada, the federal government is inviting input from employers, workers, worker support groups, and other interested parties.

As a first step, the Government of Canada is seeking input until December 22, 2020 on proposed accommodation requirements in the TFW Program’s primary agriculture stream.

 

How to solve New Zealand’s seasonal labor shortage

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Oct-02 Fri 08:53
2020-Oct-02 Fri 08:53
1635

The new season for New Zealand’s horticulture and wine growing industry has arrived. It is worth an estimated $9.5 billion to the country’s economy. Over the past decade, strong growth in export markets has led to widespread expansion of areas under planting and a shift towards more productive,…

Agriculture Deptartment Drops Wage Floor in H-2A Farmworker Program

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Oct-01 Thu 20:06
2020-Oct-01 Thu 20:06
1626

Mexican farm workers harvest celery in a field of Brawley, California, in the Imperial Valley, on January 31, 2017. Many of the farm workers expressed fears that they would not be able to continue working in the United States under the President Trump's administration.

'This isn not a narrow industry issue, this is a matter of food and national security'

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-30 Wed 09:30
2020-Sep-30 Wed 09:30
1605

A recently released report by EY details that the Australian fruit and vegetable industry is facing a workforce shortage of up to 26,000 people throughout the peak summer season. A shortage of workers will have a real impact on Australian consumers, with price increases and likely shortages of fruit and…

Labour plan will help fruit and vegetable growers supply fresh produce to Australians

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:18
2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:18
1230

AUSVEG, Australia’s peak industry body for vegetable and potato growers, supports the labour plan submitted by the National Farmers’ Federation’s Horticulture Council that will help give growers confidence that they can get the workers they need to get fruits and vegetables off the farm and to consumers.…

Okanagan apple & pear growers face significant losses due to labour shortage

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:14
2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:14
1233

The British Columbia Fruit Growers’ Association is once again appealing to locals to consider picking fruit as temporary employment. A similar plea was made earlier in the season, just before the cherry harvest. The plea is deemed necessary in the wake of a severe labour shortage of foreign workers.…

Michigan growers react to court ruling on migrant worker COVID-19 testing

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:12
2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:12
1238

On Wednesday evening, the US Court of Appeals ruled on a very controversial case involving seasonal workers. The court denied a group of nearly 200 agricultural business owners and employees the chance to convince a judge that migrant workers should not have to be tested for COVID-19. Farmers argue that…

CAN: 1-month extension for SAWP contract

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-31 Mon 09:04
2020-Aug-31 Mon 09:04
1182

SAWP workers are now permitted to continue working beyond their end-date (up to 1-month) as identified on their employer’s LMIA for the 2020 season. For information on extending work permits for workers from other Temporary Foreign Worker Program streams, please visit the government website or view the…

Scottish vegetable growers prevented from using unlicensed labour

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-28 Fri 09:27
2020-Aug-28 Fri 09:27
1161

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has stopped a Scottish vegetable growing business from using workers provided to them by an unlicensed recruitment agency. A Labour Market Enforcement Undertaking (LMEU) has been served to the business based in Angus, north-east Scotland, which supplies…

Low volume and labor issues challenged B.C. cherry growers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-21 Fri 10:26
2020-Aug-21 Fri 10:26
1095

As British Columbia’s cherry season wraps up, thoughts turn towards next year and how to plan accordingly for what could be a large crop. These thoughts follow a challenging 2020 season. “It was a lower year for volume and it was a slower crop,” says Sukhpaul Bal, president of the B.C. Cherry…

Securing the seasonal workforce, state by state

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-20 Thu 09:55
2020-Aug-20 Thu 09:55
1092

Labour availability is a priority for apple and pear growers nationally, with negotiations to allow Pacific Islands workers entry to the country a key focus of both national and state bodies. A poll conducted last week by APAL found that 53 per cent of growers are ‘not confident’ of their chances of…

B.C. fruit growers appeal to local residents to help with harvest as COVID-19 keeps foreign workers away

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-11 Tue 17:21
2020-Aug-11 Tue 17:21
1002

Fruit growers are appealing to British Columbians in need of work to help with the remaining harvest this year.

Hydroponic tomato grower expands year-round offerings and organic varieties

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:49
2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:49
991

The fresh produce market, like all grocery categories, is experiencing new challenges relating to the COVID virus. Alejandro Santander, Vice President of Sales and Operations with Globalmex International, and their Magic Sun-branded hothouse tomatoes, indicates that there are always challenges in the ag…

Australian unions want to call ban on overseas seasonal workers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:38
2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:38
994

The Australian Workers' Union, the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association and the Transport Workers' Union have formed an alliance, calling for a ban on working holidaymaker visa. The unions want Australian farmers to stop hiring international backpackers to harvest their crops and instead…

Demand for direct-hire labor in agriculture is seasonal

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:38
2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:38
995

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has decreased labor availability in many sectors of the economy. In agriculture, labor inputs consist of unpaid farm operator labor (including spouse and family labor), direct-hire labor, and labor contracted through a third party. In 2018, 62 percent of total farm labor hours…