By Matt Underwood The whole thing is screwed up: Farmers in deep-red Pennsylvania struggle to find workers. This is a problem that’s hitting Pennsylvania farmers hard, and it’s not exactly a secret why. The labor pool is shrinking, and the folks who are available aren’t exactly lining up for the work. One dairy farmer, Tim Wood, put it plainly: “People don’t understand that if we don’t get more labor, our cows don’t get milked and our crops don’t get picked.”
The problem isn’t new, and the warning signs were there for everyone to see. Many predicted this exact outcome when certain political policies were enacted. Some of the very people now struggling voted for these policies. The irony isn’t lost on anyone. Take the case of John Painter, a farmer who ran an organic dairy for decades and voted for Trump three times. He initially relied on migrant labor, as many farmers did, to keep his farm running. Then, immigration enforcement caught up with his workers, and he lost them. He found a new couple from Guatemala, but the looming birth of a child means more pressure. He’s now wondering how to keep his farm running. His sentiment? “If they’re here working and paying their taxes, they are not the troublemakers that we should be focusing on getting rid of.”
There is a general feeling that farmers got exactly what they voted for. Before the election, signs plastered the fields, championing lower prices under one political party and higher prices under the other. Did they consider what it would mean to the labor force they depended on? The consequences are now being felt, and the sentiment is a strong one: “You dense penniless morons, look what you did to yourselves.” And the chorus is: “They got what they voted for.”
The heart of the issue is a disconnect between cause and effect. What these farmers are *actually* complaining about is that they can’t exploit cheap, underpaid labor anymore. The lack of available workers is directly linked to policy decisions and the enforcement of those policies. It’s easy to say “Americans are too spoiled to do the jobs” but what if the jobs actually paid a fair wage?
The problem is, the people who are struggling are the same people who voted for policies that created the struggle. It’s a classic example of unintended consequences, but also a clear example of the idea that actions have consequences. It’s a sentiment that resonates with many observers.
There is talk of legislation, but many are skeptical that it will change anything. The situation highlights a deeper issue: the need to find workers and the need to be willing to pay them fairly for their labor. The reality is that the current situation isn’t sustainable. If the farms want to survive, they need to attract workers, and that means offering competitive wages. They are, in a way, stuck between a rock and a hard place of their own making.
The situation isn’t just about the farmers. It’s also about the economy and the future of the agricultural industry. The labor shortage will inevitably affect the price of food, impacting everyone. The whole thing is screwed up, indeed.