US EditionWashington Cherry Growers Struggle to Find Pickers
- Washington cherry growers face a severe labor shortage during the June to August harvest season in 2025, limiting their ability to pick and ship fruit on time.
- This shortage stems from fears among migrant workers caused by shifting immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration and social media reports of raids despite recent official assurances.
- Farms in Eastern Washington compete over a small labor pool while rising picker wages and big orchards acquiring smaller ones squeeze local producers who cannot raise retail prices due to fixed retailer demands.
- Erik Zavala noted that the crop had ideal characteristics, including cherry size and high quality, representing an excellent growing season. However, he cautioned that all the investments made—such as pruning and irrigation—could be entirely lost, putting 10 to 20 percent of small producers at risk of going out of business.
- The labor crisis risks leaving cherries unharvested or rotting, intensifying consolidation in the industry and placing financial strain on family farms that form the sector's foundation.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Gee and Ursula: Fear of ICE deterring local cherry harvest
It is officially cherry season. However, this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are impacting the local cherry harvest. Central Washington cherry growers told FOX 13 Thursday that a fear of ICE is keeping pickers away from the fields. “The Trump administration, as we have been reporting, has been flip-flopping on whether farm workers should be targeted,” KIRO host Ursula Reutin said. Trump changes mind on ICE raids, impa…
▶️ Farmers are starting to install cameras in their orchards. The cause: cherry theft, which is increasing during this harvest period. A TF1 team filmed a flagrant offense while accompanying policemen on patrol. - “We put cameras in the orchards”: cherry producers exasperated by the multiplication of thefts (Police, justice and news items).
'Farms will vanish': Cherry farms become ghost towns amid Trump's ICE crackdown
Cherry growers say they're seeing a severe labor shortage amid President Donald Trump's nationwide immigration crackdown, leading to a massive shortage of berries.A grower in the Mattawa, Washington, area lost about 300 bins — each weighing at least 350 pounds, horticulturist Erik Zavala told area t...
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