The American Farm Bureau says the 70 percent increase in fresh fruit and vegetable imports since 2010 is a direct reflection of challenges across the specialty crop sector.
Danny Munch tells Brownfield, “There’s sort of a regulatory-imposed cost differential that makes growing in one part of the world much harder than other parts of the world, even though those same grocery products are competing right next to each other for the consumer.”
He says the consistent increases are influencing acreage reductions and the ag trade deficit to widen.
“When we look at a lot of our bulk commodities, grains, there isn’t an ag deficit,” he says. “We are still exporting more value than the value we’re bringing in. Where we see a lot of the value coming into the country is in your horticulture and your tropical products.”
In the past 25 years, U.S. fruit production has declined more than 30 percent, while vegetable production has fallen 10 percent.
Munch says new farm bill provisions, stronger trade enforcement, and lower regulatory costs would help producers be more competitive.
“If we provide a little bit of wiggle room, a little bit of relief on the regulatory side as well, that can help with a lot of the equation too,” he explains. “We’ve also looked at domestic procurement in federal programs. There is still space for growth in terms of what they serve in schools.”
Recently released U.S. Department of Labor wage rates for the H-2A guest worker program rose 3.5 percent on average, depending on skill level, for next year. Kansas wages had the largest increase, up more than 20%, followed by Nebraska (+15%) and North Dakota (+17%).
