California growers struggle to absorb higher farmworker labor rates, look to mechanization

01/27/21 6:24 AM By Amy Mayer

California agricultural employers are continuing to adapt to the increasing minimum wage and the rollout of new overtime pay requirements, sometimes by moving away from manual labor to mechanized solutions. The rest of the country is watching closely to see whether these farm labor trends expand.

Julie Anna Potts, North American Meat Institute

This week’s Open Mic guest is Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the North American Meat Institute. Few segments of the food industry were forced to adapt as quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic to meet consumer demand as members of the North American Meat Institute. Now, Potts says, the meat industry is looking forward to a new normal and embracing new challenges including a court challenge to California’s Proposition 12 ballot initiative that threatens to wreak havoc on interstate commerce of meat. Potts says resolving labor issues remains a top priority for the meat industry as well as securing the safety of their existing workers from COVID-19.

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Opinions

Opinion: Global school feeding programs

Marshall Matz and Julia Johnson discuss important findings of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation's new report, “School Meals Around the World”, which provides necessary insights into the power of school meals in shaping the food and education system.

Agri-Pulse TV

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Agri-Pulse TV

04.16.2021

Washington Week in Review: April 16, 2021: Rep. Rick Crawford on infrastructure, minority farmers

Congress was back in Washington this week after a two-week break, and infrastructure remained top of mind for many on Capitol Hill. Arkansas Republican Rick Crawford, a member of the House Agriculture and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees, joins Agri-Pulse to discuss the Biden administration's approach as well as how he sees the process playing out.

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