Labor
PickTrace labor management expands services
A labor management company that offers fresh produce industry growers a digital solution for time, attendance and productivity tracking of employees has expanded services to ease hiring and payment processes. PickTrace, Glendale, California, first offered... more »
Field worker wages up 6%, signaling hike for H-2A pay
Field workers at U.S. farms received an average of $17.04 per hour in October, an increase of 6% from the same month in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Labor Survey. The... more »
FFVA comments on rising farm labor rates
Noting expected hikes in Florida farm labor rates, the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association is weighing in on how growers are being affected by rising labor costs. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released... more »
IFPA calls H-2A wages an ‘assault’ on produce industry
The International Fresh Produce Association is projecting an almost 7% average increase pay rates for workers in the H-2A program, based on the recent release of the annual U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Labor Survey... more »
Ag labor group sues to halt H-2A changes
The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) has filed a legal challenge to changes in the H-2A program. The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Labor has “unlawfully repealed a final rule duly issued, prescribed... more »
Workers benefit from flu vaccines, COVID-19 boosters
This year has been the worst year for flu in the United States in over a decade, according to recently released federal data. Farmworkers, and especially those who live in shared housing with other workers,... more »
John Deere receives awards in robotics, vehicle tech
John Deere has been named a CES 2023 Innovation Awards Best of Innovation honoree in the Robotics category, and an honoree in the Vehicle Tech & Advanced Mobility category for its fully autonomous tractor. This... more »
Locati Farms counters higher costs, supply shortages
Locati Farms, a Walla Walla, Washington, sweet onion grower, adapts to challenges by changing growing practices and using technology to improve the quality of the region’s namesake onion. For more than a century, Locati Farms... more »