Tag Archives: peach harvest

Labor Shortages & Rising Costs: Can the H-2A Program Save U.S. Farmers?

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Atlanta, GA |

Over the next few months some of Georgia’s signature fruits and vegetables like peaches, onions and blueberries, will all be ready to come out of the field. And in order to maximize both quality and quantity, it’s essential to have a reliable workforce.

“You have to have enough labor there on the busiest day to get them harvested, get them packed. This is timely work. It’s so timely to have harvest at the right days. So, we’re always very conscious. That’s our number one issue behind probably weather is labor availability,” says Robert Dickey, Chairman of the Georgia House Agriculture Committee.

That’s where the H2A program comes in, as it helps supplement a small number of domestic workers, while also complying with stronger immigration policies.

“If we’re going to continue to feed America with American grown crops, vegetables, and fruits, we got to have a labor force. Unfortunately, we don’t have a domestic force to do that. And that is why we have transitioned to this H2A program. You see other industries desperately wanting that, with our shortage of labor in this country. And so, this has been a good program for us. It has kept us all one hundred percent legal,” says Dickey.

Despite their workers being documented, many Georgia farmers are hoping there can still be some compromise on the recent immigration crackdown.

“I hope the administration can look at the history of some of our workers from whatever industry they’re in, in this state who have been here for many, many years and contributed to the economy and have families here, maybe even homes and things. Maybe give them some pathway to citizenship, some legal status so they can continue working and helping our industries,” says Dickey.

Labor shortages aren’t the only concern, as growers have seen wages increase exponentially over the past few years, which has opened the door for more foreign competition.

“So far, we haven’t had any real issues, a few little hiccups but, that program has worked well. I hope it’s no changes to it other than trying to get some costs back in line. Those costs for us have gone up over thirty or forty percent in the last two or three years and just raising our grower cost to not be competitive with foreign imports. So, that’s one of our big concerns,” says Dickey.

And it’s a concern that will likely continue into the future, unless some changes are made to the program.

“We don’t have that labor and don’t have it at a competitive rate, it’s just going to make foreign imports from Mexico, Chile, and South America much more available to domestic grocery stores. There’s going to be less costs and our industry will just really go away if we don’t do something to stem it,” says Dickey.

By: Damon Jones

From Freeze to Feast: Georgia Peach Orchards Rebound with Bumper Crop in 2024!

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Fort Valley, GA |

What a difference a year makes. After seeing orchards full of damaged peaches in 2023 due to a late freeze, it is the complete opposite this time around, as there will be plenty of fruit to harvest in 2024, after Mother Nature served up an ideal spring for growers.

“That was nice to go through a Spring where we didn’t really have to crank up the wind machines and we weren’t running around burning hay bales and a lot of stuff that doesn’t make a lot of difference, but we think we’re helping, but this year, it was a good kind of Spring that you would like to order up if you could,” says Al Pearson, Owner of Pearson Farms.

“We normally expect some damage from cold, and so, normally an eighty percent crop, eighty percent of full bloom and full crop in every orchard, is usually a full crop. This year, we had pretty much a full crop across the board. I’ve seen peaches in places I’ve never seen peaches before,” says Jeff Cook, County Extension Coordinator.

Those favorable conditions were a continuation from the winter months, which saw the crop receive more than an adequate number of chill hours. In fact, the growing season was optimal enough to serve as a gauge for the future.

“This year is a barometer for us that, with the no frost and a good Winter and such, if we have a problem with a peach variety this year, we need to think about not planting it,” says Pearson.

That isn’t to say the weather was perfect, as there are always issues to deal with throughout the year.

“We’ve had another wet year so far. It’s dried off recently, but we’ve had a really wet year. I think we’re thirty something inches of rain already for the year. So, we’ve had a really wet year. When you’re growing a crop that’s perishable like a peach, it has a bunch diseases. Moisture is one thing that feeds a disease. If you’ve got a crop that the disease attacks, and then you have plenty of moisture, if you can’t protect that fruit, then you can have some issues,” says Cook.

Despite that, it is expected to be a bumper crop, which does create some complications when preparing orchards for harvest.

“That just made it for a lot tougher, a lot harder job to go in there and prune and then come back and subsequently thin. Once we knew ‘hey, we, we’ve got a crop, now we’ve got to get it thinned so we can size them up and have good, quality peaches.’ You’ve only got so many people who you plan for the year that you’ve got coming in, coming to work, and those guys have to be able to get around to the whole farm. This year, they actually had to go to the whole farm to try and thin peaches because there were peaches everywhere,” says Cook.

However, you won’t find any growers complaining about a big crop, as they are excited to get their fruit out to consumers in the coming months.

“It’s dry right now, hot and dry, but that makes peaches taste real good. So that’s a good thing and we know that the fruit that we deliver is going to ripen well for the customer and be a good thing to eat,” says Pearson.

By: Damon Jones