In early January, reports emerged of California farmworkers not showing up to work due to fears of deportation by the U.S. border patrol. California Citrus Mutual (CCM) CEO Casey Creamer told Freshfruitportal.com on January 30 that no further reports of workforce disruptions have emerged. 

No-shows were reported in the Bakersfield area in early January, where some growers reported 25% absence in the fields, up to 75% in certain parts. 

However, Creamer said, "Those numbers were not industry-wide, but rather for specific operations, and the situation has already gone pretty much back to normal."

Since these first reports, Creamer said the industry has not seen the impact of labor shortages in harvesting and packing citrus operations. 

Continued concern and immigration reform

Regardless, Creamer is aware that there still "remains to be a lot of concern about this topic and how we proceed. Everything has been focused on knowing your rights and responsibilities as an employer and an employee regarding what you can and cannot do concerning the law. We try to educate growers on these points."

Additionally, Creamer said there has to be comprehensive immigration reform, which he thinks "is really the solution to this."

Although there is no precise statistic on how much the California citrus industry depends on these at-risk workers, Creamer said that by law, they check documentation upon hiring.

California Farm Beaurea speaks on labor shortages

The California Farm Bureau says it has contacted numerous farmers across the state and has not heard of any widespread workforce disruption.

Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, which represents more than 26,000 farm and ranch families in the state, clarified that while concerns exist, farmers are continuing operations, the Beaurea said in a release. 

“Without these employees, crops would go unharvested, rural businesses would suffer, and food prices could rise for families across the country,” Little said. “This is not just a farm issue—it’s a food security issue, an economic issue, and a community issue.”

Long term solution

Seeing this as a frequent challenge for the industry, Creamer said the most realistic solution is immigration reform. 

Regarding alternatives to replacing these workers, Creamer said, "The reality that there is a different workforce available is not true. It's hard enough to meet the current needs with the aging population in the agriculture workforce today, so there aren't any viable solutions other than finally fixing this situation."

He added that it's been too long since they haven't had any legislation move through Congress. 

From the state's Farm Beaurea, Little also stressed the urgent need for immigration policy reform, noting that California’s agricultural workforce challenges are not new.

“Farmers and ranchers have struggled with chronic labor shortages for years, and uncertainty surrounding immigration policy only exacerbates the problem,” he said.

H2-A Program

The H-2A program, which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for temporary agricultural jobs, is another part that Creamer thinks requires reform. 

"It's not a great fit as part of a comprehensive immigration reform because we need to responsibly deal with the situation for people here, hardworking people that aren't committing crimes," Creamer said. 

The system through the H-2A program requires a lot of money, from recruiting in foreign countries to bringing them over. Other elements make it hard to manage and not accessible to all growers. 

The California Farm Bureau has requested that the H-2A agricultural visa program be modernized to be more flexible and responsive to farmers' and ranchers' labor needs.

California citrus season

The citrus season is currently at its peak in some areas of the state. Creamer said they are optimistic about this year. 

However, the lemon market is saturated, "and many people are losing a lot of money. So there are market challenges with maintaining profitability, but prices continue to rise."

Regardless, there is good fruit on the market, with an average crop and good movement. 

"We've had a bit of smaller sizing due to weather conditions; these are the usual challenges of every year, but as far as the crop is concerned, we're pretty excited about the market," Creamer said.