Washington farmers estimate out $100k due to worker shortage

As Washington state farmers Burr and Rosella Mosby explain in a new video from the American Farm Bureau Federation, the farm workforce is dwindling, and even with higher wages, it’s hard to find enough workers for harvest. The Mosbys were forced to abandon a field of zucchini squash on their farm just south of Seattle when their workforce came up 25 percent short this season.

“I think we need more options,” Rosella Mosby said in talking about the guest worker visa program. She said there is an availability of foreign workers ready to come work in agriculture, but the current system does not give farmers or workers the flexibility needed to fill farm jobs.

The Mosbys estimate that their workforce shortage this year will cost them $100,000 in lost profits and productivity.