Labor
Labor officials are also pushing agricultural education as the industry works to attract younger workers.
Kansas, North Dakota, and Nebraska are states where H-2A wage rates are increasing by roughly 20 percent in some cases.
Small businesses are showing more confidence in hiring and investment despite continued workforce challenges.
For agricultural producers, finding workers is only part of the challenge. The cost of hiring has also become a growing concern.
The National Federation of Independent Business says 27 percent of owners named labor quality or availability their biggest problem, up eight points from June.
Veteran and independent trucker Lewie Pugh explains how the Freedom Haulers Initiative aims to help military veterans transition into civilian trucking careers.
USDA’s Economic Research Service says upstream agricultural activity produced $570 billion in output and contributed $241 billion to gross domestic product in 2017.
USDA price-index data shows the producer index for all potatoes fell 14.5 percent from last year and 18.2 percent from five years ago.
Maritime workers have halted vessel traffic as they protest changes to river navigation rules.