Lack of Labor Remains a Serious Challenge for Farmers

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 17:47:19 GMT

A new survey from the Minneapolis Fed found ag bankers rank labor availability as a top concern for their farm clients.

The survey, which was conducted with ag bankers from the ninth district (Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin), found the issue is viewed as a “serious challenge” for 63% of respondents and a minor challenge for the majority of the remaining 37%.

“It’s becoming more and more difficult to obtain the labor needed to operate,” a Minnesota-based banker told the Minneapolis Fed.

The availability of livestock workers was seen as more limited than crop workers and those surveyed also shared that finding long-term help is more difficult than temporary help due to the seasonal nature of the ag industry.

As far as how this compares to past conditions, 39% of respondents said labor availability has gotten “much worse” over the past five years and 44% said it’s “a little worse”.

The Minneapolis Fed attributes this challenge to the region’s low influx of migrant workers and aging workforce.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 10% of animal production employees in the area are foreign born, compared to 18% nationally. The number is even lower for crop production with just 5% of workers being foreign born, compared to 32% nationally.

The region also has some of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S.

At the same time, the median age of workers in the region rose from 51 to 56 in 2021. The number of workers between 45 to 54 has declined over the past decade with a small increase of those between the ages of 25 to 44 and a large increase of those over 55.

For more on labor, read:

Montana Lost 37,000 Cattle To Brutal Winter

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:49:18 GMT

Montana ranchers lost more than 37,000 cattle due to weather-related causes in 2018, according to data released by the Farm Service Agency.

The Billings Gazette reported Sunday the federal Livestock Indemnity Program paid out $11.1 million for the loss of 37,352 cattle in Montana in 2018. Ranchers and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) say there were more weather-related cattle deaths that did not qualify for compensation.

FSA said the 2018 payout was more than four times the amount paid out for losses in the previous four years combined. Half of the cattle losses were in a 300-mile swath of six Montana counties across northern Montana from Cut Bank in the west to Glasgow in the East, and diagonally south to Billings. The region was blanketed by snow at a depth of 20 to 30 inches which remained for weeks.

The FSA numbers do not include livestock losses for any winter months in 2019, which saw historically low temperatures during February and March.

Jay Bodner, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association, believes the reported 2018 death toll “is very much on the low end.” That’s because during the first months of 2018 Montana was also deep in snow.

The reporting of the dramatically higher LIP payout also underscores frustrations of many ranchers with the program’s verification process. LIP works well for a brief weather disaster but is not as effective for a longer-term event such as a harsh winter.

For instance, the three-day October 2013 South Dakota blizzard killed more than 70,000 cattle, and it’s the event Montana ranchers cite when describing their struggles with LIP. They say it’s hard to identify a three-day event that killed cattle during a winter when snow and weeks of sub-zero temperatures lasted for weeks.

The verification process is a spool of red tape that many ranchers either mishandle or ignore completely.

The Billings Gazette reported that Blaine County reported 4,420 cattle deaths, Big Horn County 4,416, Phillips County 2,743, and Fergus and Petroleum Counties had 4,570 cattle deaths combined.

Related stories:

Livestock Losses Still Being Tallied In Nebraska

What To Know About The Livestock Indemnity Program