The Current Workforce Labor Shortage and How It Is Affecting the Industry

Consensus among those involved in food production agriculture is that the growing labor shortage is either their number one or number two concern. 87% say it is more difficult to find necessary labor than in previous years according to the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture, American Farmland Trust estimates that 40% of all agricultural land will be in ownership transition in the next 15 years and American Farm Bureau estimates a lofty 2 million potential jobs in agriculture will go unfilled this year. These are issues that have been growing in significance for more than a few years. Long used pipelines for labor in production agriculture are simply drying up as the number of farms decrease, the size of families decreases and the scope of able population of rural America declines. Those challenges are the easy to see, so what are our options? Consensus support from diverse ag segments and new efforts to recruit human resources for rural America are the logical answers. These aren’t just isolated single farm shortages, they are threats to food security, important supply chains and ultimately rural America itself. Change may be more difficult for industry’s steeped in tradition and pride, but smart choices need to be considered for today and in the plan for a more secure future.