Following the Harvest

For all of recorded history, growing crops has followed the same basic pattern: planting the seed takes a lot of work, and harvesting the crop takes even more work. The time in between, the duration of which is different for each crop, often requires less hands-on work (though every farmer would tell you there is still lots of work to do). That hurry-up-then-slow-down-then-hurry-up nature of farming has been consistent all around the world since the Neolithic Revolution.

For nearly as long, farmers have relied on temporary labor for those busy seasons. Farms often operate with their “full-time” team for most of the year – made up of a mix of family farmworkers and hired hands – but in many cases, farms need three to five times more laborers during harvest than they do the rest of the year, so many choose to hire temporary “harvest laborers.” In areas of the country that are rich in agriculture, like Washington state, temporary harvest laborers are an irreplaceable part of the local economy – and some experts warn the hiring pool is getting smaller each year.

In the years after the Great Depression, farmworkers began the practice of “following the harvest," migrating north and taking temporary jobs as different crops came ready to harvest, often starting in Texas and following the harvest through California and eventually to Washington state. It was such a phenomenon that John Steinbeck wrote a series of feature articles about it, published as a pamphlet called “Their Blood is Strong.” Since World War 2, in large part due to the Bracero Program, a predominantly Mexican workforce has taken over those harvest labor jobs and inherited that route from Texas or California up to Washington.

Even in our modern age of technological advancement, many of Washington’s most prized fruits and vegetables are still meticulously harvested and packed by hand. So in the present day, when those temporary harvest laborers arrive in Washington, they’re greeted with joy and relief – because if there aren’t enough workers, the harvest could die on the vine. In the last few years, that steady stream of harvest laborers from Texas and California has quietly dried up. Now, many farm owners say their top concern is finding enough workers to get their crops picked before it's too late.

“We know we’re nothing without our employees,” said Mikala Staples-Hughes, interim director of human resources at Sakuma Brothers Farms. “When there’s a labor shortage, it hurts, and we can’t be successful. We want the best for our employees, and we work hard to promote from within and treat people as best we can.”

When temporary laborers arrive, farmers quickly put them to work, often using a piece-rate pay system that incentivizes workers to work quickly and efficiently. The “full-time” team is critical during these early days, providing training and supervision and passing along the culture of the farm to large crowds of newcomers.

“Newcomers” may not be the most accurate word here. For established farms, many of the temporary harvest laborers who come to work each season are not new at all, but rather familiar faces that have been returning year after year. Laborers find it easier to return to the same farms each year than to locate new employment, so they return every year at the same time. These longtime harvesters often bring reinforcements, recruiting cousins, uncles and aunts, and adult children to come along for the promise of steady work. Family members arrive together, work together for the season, and then move on to the next harvest together.

Farm managers have noted that in recent years, many families who previously migrated between California and Washington have chosen to instead remain in Washington full time. Because there is such a great diversity of crops grown in agricultural hubs like Skagit County and the Columbia Basin, and because there are so many processing plants in Washington, temporary farm laborers have been able to stay busy year-round without having to migrate.

In Skagit County, for instance, many workers historically would arrive in June – just in time to pick strawberries – after spending the winter in the Central Valley of California. After the strawberries were picked, the workers would move to blueberry fields. After blueberries, they may move to blackberries, or potatoes, before packing up to head to California again for the winter. Now, however, those laborers often stay in the Skagit Valley, moving on to Brussels sprouts or tulip bulbs or into one of the many processing plants to work throughout the winter.

“I believe that the more diverse a person can be, the better employee they are,” said Kristi Gundersen, CFO of Knutzen Farms in Burlington, Wash. “It is a real strength for us – they bring different skillsets in from the other farms they work on. And this community fosters each other really well. When there is a new person on the floor of our packing facility, the other co-workers on the line are helpful and nurturing, training and supporting each other.”

Despite the abundance of temporary farm work in Washington, many farmers are reporting a decline in how many domestic laborers they are able to recruit each year. The H-2A Program allows farmers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill those temporary jobs, but the cost is high, and some farmers are skeptical. Many are worried about what a prolonged labor shortage would do to their farms. Right now, they’re able to strike a delicate balance – able to hire the labor they need, when they need it – but the future is uncertain. For now, farmers just keep doing what they've always done: feeding the world, one harvest at a time.