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Kansas Ag Workforce Needs Assessment Survey reflects labor shortage

The 2022 Kansas Ag Workforce Needs Assessment Survey shows that the industry continues to suffer from the labor shortage with more than 50 percent of ag-related jobs being unfilled.

State Ag Secretary Mike Beam tells Brownfield that skilled labor, transportation, and livestock handling jobs have the highest demand according to the survey released during the summit, “Everybody feels it, even if it’s a farm that provides all their own labor, they feel it. The costs have gone up because of transportation, their inputs are up because of international issues.”

12 percent of respondents say CDL and equipment operators are the most difficult jobs to fill with 10 percent struggling to find farm labor. 14 percent indicated livestock handling, meat processing and veterinarians.

And, Beam says, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. “We’re just going to have to learn how to be competitive, how to retain workers and try to attract to new labor capital to this business.”

Governor Laura Kelly says federal policy can be an obstacle for producers and businesses trying to hire seasonal workers, “We have got to persuade Congress to finally come up with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that allows seasonal workers to come here legally, to provide the services and the labor that our ag industry needs.”

Brownfield’s Kellan Heavican interviewed Governor Kelly and Secretary Beam at the Kansas Ag Summit.