With a looming labor shortage and high minimum wage increasing labor costs, many farmers are turning to U-pick to harvest their fruits and vegetables.
With a looming labor shortage and high minimum wage increasing labor costs, many farmers are turning to U-pick to harvest their fruits and vegetables.
The business model offers several benefits over traditional farming, according to experienced U-pick farm operators, including less reliance on commercial labor.
“One of the beauties of it is you don’t have those labor costs and those regulations that are really difficult to comply with,” said Barry Bushue, a Boring, Ore., farmer who began a commercial U-pick operation 10 years ago. “We occasionally hire folks to help us out, but we no longer have a regular permanent labor force,” he said.
Read more at Capital Press.
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