Michigan apple growers are facing a dilemma. They're looking at a record crop of high quality fruit but not enough workers to pick it all in the next six weeks.
Michigan Farm Bureau sent help wanted postcards to labor contractors as far away as Georgia and Florida to try to bring in more workers. But spokesman Ken Nye says even if a few hundred respond that's far short of the couple of thousand more pickers that are needed.
He expects maybe as much as 20% of the 30 million bushel crop will be left in the orchard. But some of the fruit eventually will go to people in need.
"At the end of this there will probably be some food bank and second harvest opportunities for people. So, we're going to waste a lot of apples this year and it's really too bad," Nye says.
Nye says it didn't help that last year's crop was a bust. That meant some migrant workers likely found opportunities in other states and didn't return to Michigan this year.
He says there will be a lot of high quality apples for consumers in the marketplace. But growers will likely take a hit if they can't pick the full harvest in time.
"You know it's that last picking or two that makes the difference between just breaking even and making something for the year," Nye says.
Most of the worker shortage is affecting the bigger farms on the fruit ridge north of Grand Rapids. But northern Michigan growers are struggling to get all of their apples picked too.
Richard Friske in Antrim County says not only could he use more good pickers. Some workers who showed up this year couldn't stick with it.
"Very few of them have really worked out and lasted very long. It's been real short term. They've worked for a week or two or maybe a month and then for various reasons they've left," Friske says.
He says his core crew will work longer hours and he thinks they'll get all the apples picked, if the weather cooperates. Not one of his workers is local.