Southwest Michigan farmers this year say that they’re dealing with a shortage of workers. Several farmers have even had to leave crops in the field or just discard them because they can’t find enough people who want to pick them. Phil Falak, with Falak Farms in Baroda, is among them. He says that he’s picking asparagus right now, and because that crop presents a bit of a guessing game as to when it’ll need to be picked, some of it’s had to go to waste:
|
Listen: |
Falak’s wife, Carol, says that the issue is that it’s too difficult to get the right paperwork for migrant workers:
|
Listen: |
Another problem is the expense of providing housing to the migrants. The Falaks say that they’d like to hire some high school kids to help them out, but because school’s still in session, that’s not an option, either. The jobs pay around ten to 12 dollars an hour, but most others looking for work want something more long term. The Falaks are hoping that the government to make it easier to bring in migrant workers.
