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.