Seasonal

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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”…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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.

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,…

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.

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…

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.…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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…

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…