DOVER, Fla. — The agriculture industry is experiencing the largest labor shortage in nearly a decade. The problem has worsened over the last four months with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions.
At Parkesdale Farms in Dover, workers are preparing fields to plant strawberries. At its height, the farm has a workforce of roughly 600 people, many of them H-2A visa holders.
“There’s a lot of hoops you have to jump through to get certified — your housing, transportation,” said Matt Parke, Vice President and Director of Operations. This is his family farm…