Growers need to prepare for increased costs as well as lower returns, Yakima, Washington orchardist Dave Allan warned during the Washington State Horticultural Association’s convention. Speaking about economic sustainability, Allan said that the abundance of labor in Washington tree fruits is coming to an end and he expects to see growers make more use of the federal H-2A guest worker program, which will result in higher labor costs. “If you’re a worker who lives in Mexico and wants to work up here, do you want to hire a coyote to come across the border, pay him a lot of money […]