As World Population Grows, Farmers Vital to Keeping People Fed
Thursday, September 17th, 2015 -- 9:22 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -With the world's population expected to grow to more than 9.7 billion people by the year 2020, farmers in North America are going to be vital in making sure they are all fed.That was the message from Frank Gasperini with the National Council of Agricultural Employers, who spoke at a forum this week at the National Farm Medicine Center in Marshfield. Gasperini's group represents labor-intensive agricultural employers. He says the United States, Canada and Mexico are the only nations on the planet that have the financial resources, water and infrastructure available to put out a crop large enough to supply food to meet the needs of the global population.
But that task comes with some challenges. He says there are real labor struggles that farmers will face in the coming years. Immigration--which is a hot topics of the current presidential campaign--is also going to be a key factor in running our farms in the future. Gasperini says the American farmer is only going to produce what they can grow economically, legally and sustainability; which means they can't afford to pay enough wages to attract a local labor force.
The NCAE says U.S. farms currently hire between 1.5 to 2 million workers, with about 500,000 of those being full-time employees.
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