NZ: Planning and working towards a bright and profitable future

Work has picked up again in the horticulture industry, led by a government-enabled action plan developed to support our industry to reach the Fit for a Better World target.…

Dutch pepper grower invests in own accommodation for employees

There is a significant shortage of quality housing for international employees in the horticultural sector. 4Evergreen, a specialist in sustainably grown peppers, is working hard to find a solution to this. In April, they started the construction of 20 studios at the Zoekweg in Steenbergen. A total of 40…

StraBerry founder will face trial for exploitation in Milan area

StraBerry is a start-up with photovoltaic greenhouses near Italy's northern city of Milan. Guglielmo Stagno d'Alcontres, the founder of the StraBerry start-up, will face trial…

Hortibest: Our Jellyfish range is perfect for converting from HPS to LED lights

We have rich experience in the lighting industry. Since our establishment in 2002, we have nearly 20 years of experience. Mr. Wang, the head of Hortibest, said, "We have been focusing on the research and development of artificial lights for plants since 2017 and established our own brand Hortibest to…

Australia: Government support for agricultural events will benefit growers

Ausveg has welcomed the commitment from the Federal Government to support large agricultural events, including Hort Connections, the largest horticulture conference, and trade…

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UK: Polytunnels and worker caravans bid for Herefordshire farm

A UK soft fruit grower plans to expand production in Herefordshire with new polytunnels and seasonal worker caravans. Ledbury-based Haygrove has applied to install up to 6.5 hectares of new tunnels on fields at its Huntington site by the Welsh border, with 18 caravans to be placed between them. The…

Investing in employees pays off for horticulture industry

Investing in employees is paying dividends for the horticulture industry as several sectors allocate Hort Innovation levy funds of almost half a million dollars in combined scholarships for the Graduate Diploma in Agribusiness: Masterclass in Horticultural Business. Offered through the University of…

Minimum pay requirements for farm workers in effect today

Australian consumers will probably see the cost-of-living pressure worsen from today as pay changes on farms across the country have the potential to make fruit and vegetables…

Instructional video program launches to help industry new hires

Blue Book recently launched New Hire Academy 2.0, a refreshed suite of online instructional videos to help industry new hires. “Sourcing, selling, and transporting fresh…

Vera Chang

"Tomato workers put Wendy’s billionaire on the hot seat"

Wendy’s is an outlier among the United States’ five biggest fast-food companies: It’s the only one that has refused to sign on to CIW’s Fair Food Program, a worker-driven initiative that ensures pickers get a bonus on top of their poverty wages and that their farm employers abide by a code of conduct,…

Canada: Training supports transition for agricultural workers

As many as 30 people will get skills training to retrain them for jobs as landscape and horticulture technicians in the greenhouse sector. This is a new Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) project from the Government of British Columbia. It is intended for immigrants and agricultural workers whose…

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Trying to find enough greenhouse vegetable workers? You’re not alone

Jose “Pepe” Calderon, head grower at Local Bounti, said finding people willing to produce greenhouse vegetables has become complicated because crops like tomatoes require skilled workers to perform some production activities. Like other industries, greenhouse vegetable operators face challenges finding…

Australian Labor Party defends agricultural visa scheme as farmers brace for increased minimum wages

The Australian Labor Party has defended its plan to replace the agriculture visa announced by the federal government last year and offer more incentives to farm workers from…

P&O Ferries forced to reverse attempted pay cut

P&O Ferries has been forced to reverse an attempt to pay its new, cheaper agency workers even less money after the RMT Union received reports of agency workers at Dover being…

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CAN (BC): Helping temporary ag workers get back to work

As many as 30 people will get skills training to retrain them for jobs in the greenhouse sector as landscape and horticulture technicians. This is a new Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) project from the Government of British Columbia. It is intended for immigrants and agricultural workers whose…

Labor’s renewed Pacific commitment is welcome but not at the expense of an Agriculture Visa with ASEAN

The Labor Party’s policy on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme and Australian Agriculture Visa (Ag Visa) announced today confirms an ongoing commitment to the…

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Automated smart system lessens grower workload in the greenhouse

As the labor shortage facing the greenhouse vegetable sector intensifies, growers are increasingly looking for alternatives to help them fill critical positions. That prompted the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) to partner with Blue Radix, a Dutch company that has developed an autonomous…

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AU: "Labor’s Ag Visa plan does not go far enough in securing workers"

The Australian Labor Party’s announcement addressing the worker shortage facing Australian growers by reforming the Pacific Australian Labour Mobility Scheme’s Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme, does not go far enough to address the horticulture industry’s critical farmworker shortages.…

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CAN (BC): Training supports transition for agricultural workers in British Columbia

As many as 30 people will get skills training to retrain them for jobs in the greenhouse sector as landscape and horticulture technicians. This is a new Community and Employer Partnerships (CEP) project from the Government of British Columbia. It is intended for immigrants and agricultural workers whose…

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Florida farmworkers are boycotting Wendy’s over their refusal to join the Fair Food Program

Farmworkers in Florida are turning up the pressure on Wendy’s. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a worker-based human rights organization, has been calling for a national boycott of the fast food chain since 2016 for their refusal to join the Fair Food Program (FFP), a partnership among farmers,…

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US (PA): Agriculture department connects students to ‘green industry’ horticulture careers at farm city day

In celebration of Earth Day, Agriculture Deputy Secretary for Plant Industry and Consumer Protection Fred Strathmeyer, Jr. joined Longwood Gardens leadership, Seed Your Future representatives, and local school students for Farm City Day at Longwood Gardens to highlight agriculture education and recognize…

Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme to alleviate fruit picker shortage

This month the federal government merged the Pacific Labour Scheme and the Seasonal Worker Program into one. The revised Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme (PALM)…

New 26 cm hook provides labor savings at GreenValley

Royal Brinkman, together with Magic Hooks, is bringing a 26-centimeter high-wire hook with a tail on the market. The longer Easyhook provides significant labor savings in cucumber cultivation. Employees at GreenValley in De Lier, The Netherlands, need to drop the plants less often. Thanks to the free…

Marfa, Texas employees inspire heartfelt song in music video

Village Farms is happy to boast it is versed in the ‘art’ of musical video production. Marfa, Texas resident and dual citizen Rámon Vega Navarro recently launched his first music video paying tribute to the company’s employees in his song “Doble Nacionalidad”, which translated to English means “Double…

The right technology system can be important to strengthening horticulture workforce efficiency

For horticulture labor technology to be effective, growers need to find and introduce a system that gives them positive efficiencies without the major drawbacks, according to a New Zealand-based crop management software company. Adam Forbes, Founder of BumperCrop says that data and technology options can…

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NFU responds to Efra committee report on labor shortages

Responding to the Efra committee report on labor shortages in the food and farming sector, NFU President Minette Batters said: “Today’s report from the Efra committee backs up the NFU’s long-standing call for a more enabling immigration policy which mitigates against the crippling labor shortages and…

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UK: Report shows lasting damage of labor shortage caused by Brexit

Brexit has caused severe labor shortages on UK farms and nurseries. These shortages were even accentuated by the COVID pandemic. News of unpicked flowers, tomatoes and empty greenhouses has been rampant. According to a report published last Wednesday (6 April), these effects can be long-lasting, causing…

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Ottawa loosens restrictions on temporary foreign workers to address labor shortages

The federal government is making it easier to hire foreign workers to help restaurants, food processors, and other labor-strapped employers cope with elevated vacancy rates. Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough announced a string of adjustments to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program that will ease…

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Finnish greenhouse owner arrested for exploitation and human trafficking of Vietnamese workers

At the end of last week, the District Court of Ostrobothnia in Finland arrested a local greenhouse entrepreneur from Närpes on probable cause on suspicion of exploitation and attempted human trafficking of Vietnamese workers. The entrepreneur, who is one of Finland’s largest growers, has been under…

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US (FL): Farmworkers urge food companies to join Fair Food Program

Farmworkers came from across the state to march with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers through the Town of Palm Beach on Saturday afternoon. They were there to urge Nelson Peltz, board chairman of Wendy's, to join the Fair Food Program —an initiative in the tomato supply industry to improve labor…

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Mexican H-2A laborers make their way to California

H-2A workers from Mexico are currently in the process of going from Yuma to the fields in Salinas and Huron, California. The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agri employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring non-immigrant foreign workers to the US to perform agricultural…

Australia: Industry welcomes partnership with Vietnam to deliver Ag Visa

The horticulture industry today welcomes the formal agreement with Vietnam to participate in the Agriculture Visa. The Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and…

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UK farms resort to overseas labor as fewer Ukrainian workers are available

UK fruit and vegetable growers are recruiting seasonal harvesting workers from countries as far away as Morocco and Mongolia as of situation in Ukraine has prevented workers from travelling to Britain. About 30,000 temporary laborers were recruited last year under a visa scheme that was ramped up after…

UK: Seasonal farmworkers minimum hourly wage is confirmed

Britain’s Home Office has provided clarity on wage increases for seasonal workers recruited within this year’s Seasonal Worker Scheme for horticultural growers; a minimum wage…

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Outrage among workers, customers and MPs after mass P&O sackings

P&O Ferries has sparked outrage after sacking 800 staff with plans to replace them with cheaper agency workers. Staff was told in a video call that Thursday was their ‘final day of employment’. Some employees refused to leave their ships in protest and were removed. P&O said it was a ‘tough’ decision but…

Australian horticulture employers urged not to wait specifically for the Ag Visa

The Australian government is urging horticulture workers not to delay worker recruitment strategies to wait on the introduction of the 'Ag Visa'. The Australian Agriculture Visa program was announced last year, with the aim of addressing workforce shortages in the sector and trying to build a stable and…

Seasonal worker program rollout begins to take effect

Fruit Growers Victoria (FGV) has today welcomed the continuing rollout of the PALM scheme to alleviate workforce pressures for Victorian fruit growers. FGV Chairman Mitchell…

Fruit and vegetable shipments severely affected by shippers' strike in one of the peak months for exports

The strike called since Monday by a minority of the freight transport sector has radicalized on Tuesday and Wednesday. This has led to a greater number of incidents being recorded and a gradual slowdown of the export of fruit and vegetables at a time of peak activity. Since Tuesday, there has been more…

Ontario’s Greenhouse vegetable growers are committed to a transition plan for the TFWIRC

This week the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) learned that effective June 30, the City of Windsor will no longer lead the Isolation and Recovery Centre for…

British Columbia: General minimum wage increasing from $15.20 to $15.65 an hour

On June 1, 2022, B.C.'s lowest-paid workers will get a pay boost, with the general minimum wage increasing from $15.20 to $15.65 an hour. The Province is following through on…

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2022 ag safety awareness program week: ‘prepare. prevent. protect.'

Farm Bureaus across the nation are preparing for Agricultural Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) Week, March 7-11. U.S. Agricultural Safety and Health Centers will join Farm Bureau in promoting ag safety this week with the theme “Prepare. Prevent. Protect.” Farm Bureau and U.S. Ag Centers will focus on…

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UK: MPs visit Perthshire to hear about horticulture labor shortages

Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee has visited a number of horticulture businesses in Perthshire to hear about the impact immigration reforms are having on the workforce. During the visit, members of the committee attended ornamental grower and plant wholesaler A&G Young, Glendoick Garden Centre…

Download a free communication toolkit

WHAT:           National Farmworker Awareness Week        WHEN:           March 25-31, 2022 HOW CAN YOU HELP: Download your free communications toolkit, share key messages and graphics provided in EFI’s free Farmworker Awareness Week Communications Toolkit. These graphics can be customized or create content of your own. Amplify the message that farmworkers are…

New Zealand growers welcome increase in workers coming from the Pacific

New Zealand’s fruit, vegetable and winegrape growers have welcomed the news that the Government has increased the cap on workers from the Pacific under the Recognised Seasonal…

Special labor and staff

Even though more and more is being automated nowadays, people are still needed and especially now, when there is a lack of labor in many sectors. Therefore, this month labor and staff will be put in the spotlight. SpecialIf you have news to share regarding this topic or are active in this field, please let us know. You can send…