Agriculture

Fluctuating weather complicates harvesting for farmers

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By LAURA BOHANNON
Capital News Service
LANSING — As the weather continues to fluctuate around the state, farmers are being forced to adapt to changing conditions. Amanda Shreve, the program director for the Michigan Farmers Market Association, said farmers can adapt to virtually any weather condition. She also said that as a result of warmer weather for longer periods throughout the year, farmers markets open earlier in the year and close later than they used to. “We used to have a general farmers market season of July – September, but now we see a lot of markets starting in May and going all the way through October or November,” Shreve said. Some crops come in early as a result of the warmer temperatures, too.

Agriculture

Michigan farmers struggle to fill seasonal jobs

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By STEPHANIE HERNANDEZ McGAVIN
Capital News Service
LANSING — The fall farming season in West Michigan has ended, but the future need for migrant workers remains. The Michigan Farm Bureau said migrant workers fill about 40,000 seasonal jobs on fruit and vegetable farms but the number is decreasing. Migrant workers are starting to see education and a permanent job as necessary, leading them away from temporary jobs that depend on time and place, Craig Anderson, manager of agricultural labor and safety services at the Farm Bureau said. “When you look at the jobs that agriculture has available, they’re unfortunately based on climates. Those three-to-six-week jobs are the types we are having a very difficult time filling,” Anderson said.