Press Herald interviews Lilley about farm labor shortage
Jason Lilley, a sustainable agriculture professional with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Portland Press Herald for the article, “Maine’s small, midsized farms suffering from labor shortage.” The labor shortage that has been plaguing Maine’s hospitality industry also is harming the state’s agriculture industry, according to the article. After the 2008 recession, there was a boom in aspiring farmers, fueled in part by the local foods movement, said Lilley. At the time, many recent high school and college graduates were struggling to find work, so they snapped up farm jobs, the article states. “I don’t know if it’s more job opportunities, or if it’s just people are realizing how hard the work is, but that local labor pool isn’t really there anymore,” he said. The labor shortage is most acute on small- to medium-sized farms, especially diversified vegetable and fruit farms that don’t already use migrant labor, according to Lilley. Some farmers are considering raising pay, the Press Herald reported. “I’ve heard a lot of people talking about how they’re going to have to do that,” Lilley said, “but they don’t know how. What I’ve heard more of is people are going to cut back on their acreage and the amount that they’re planting.” The Times Record published the Press Herald article.