In 2012, Michigan farmers experienced a gut-punch: the worst year on record since 1925 due to a deep freeze. Apple growers picked only 10-15 percent of their normal crop. Tart cherry production dropped by a whopping 92 percent. Peaches, pears and plums had essentially zero crops.
Having fruit in the field with no one to pick it is like having no fruit at all, and the loss of crops led to a loss of labor. Following no crop in 2012, many of the laborers didn’t come back in 2013, causing back-to-back years of extreme hardship for farmers. Since the struggle to find seasonal labor began well before 2012 for Michigan farmers, the freeze exacerbated a difficult situation. The crisis represented an opportunity for the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB): solve a complex problem on behalf of members. Do so, and you become a “must-have” membership rather than a “nice-to-have” membership. And that’s what MFB did.
In 2014, the organization formed an affiliate company called Great Lakes Ag Labor Services, LLC (GLALS) to address the labor shortage. The organization helps farmers navigate the complicated federal H-2A visa program so they can legally source seasonal guest workers from other countries. Wisely, Great Lakes Ag started with a small pilot: four farms and ninety workers. Since then it’s grown to 58 farms and 1,800 workers. In 2020 GLALS expanded service into Ohio and Indiana and continues to grow as they serve farmers in the Great Lakes region.
Great Lakes Ag Labor is 1) doing for members what they can’t do by themselves and 2) helping members work less stressfully, more profitably and more productively. Both of these represent innovation opportunities for associations. But I’m even more impressed because of what Sarah Black, General Manager of GLALS told me about the philosophy behind the program. “We wanted to create a win-win-win. Our farmers and members needed the labor to be able to continue to operate, and we wanted to ensure their success. We wanted this to be a win for the employees who were coming here. And the other win is the American consumer, who has access to domestically produced fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.”
A triple win.
What’s one challenge you would tackle on behalf of your members if you knew you would not fail?