US (CA): Shortage of workers hampers SLO County's crop harvest
“We’re struggling to find enough people to do the harvest of our specialty crops,” said Dan Sutton, general manager of the Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange, which specializes in such vegetables as Napa cabbage and bok choy. “People aren’t available, and this has probably been the most challenging season on record. It’s taking us a lot longer to do what we normally do quite a bit more efficiently.”
In years with an abundance of help, crews would consist of about 12 to 14 people, he said.
Now, crews average about eight to 10, and to keep up with the workload, they have been working longer hours and into the weekend, Sutton said.
Source: sanluisobispo.com