During a hot summer, when we are more concerned about our next ice-cream treat or glass of lemonade, some might be surprised to find that labor shortages are top of mind for many Washington state farmers.

In June, Washington Policy Center’s Initiative on Agriculture published a study detailing the impacts of the 2016 agricultural labor shortage. The study showed that agricultural labor shortages create quality loss, increased production costs, along with crop loss.

Last year, 51 percent of farms reported economic damage due to labor problems and solutions for the labor shortage are critical. We found a combination of mechanization and guest workers, will need to be used to meet the growing agricultural demand. The demand for guest workers has been best met by the federal H-2A program, which is a temporary worker visa program designed to fill temporary gaps in seasonal labor demands.

Last week, the Washington Farm Labor Association (wafla) published a valuable report titled, “Economic Contributions of Washington H-2A Workers.” Prepared by ECONorthwest, the report found that H-2A workers generated $619 million in economic activity for Washington’s tree fruit industry in 2015.

As our labor shortage becomes more severe, Washington state will become more reliant on H-2A and it is vital that this program remain efficient and that regulatory barriers are removed. In 2017, the number of H-2A workers in Washington will reach 15,000 – an all-time high. The study published by wafla shows a growing share of workers within the tree fruit industry are employed through an H-2A program, with the percentage growing from 4 percent to 14 percent between 2010 and 2015. Our farmers and state economy benefit from both the direct and indirect benefits of this program.

H-2A also benefits participating workers. Over the six-month program, workers have an average annual wage of $24,932. The wafla study estimates that 80 percent of the earned wages are remitted to the workers’ country of origin. The remaining, unremitted wages of H-2A workers have a direct economic effect on Washington of $38.8 million, averaging about $5,000 per worker.

Reducing the barriers for H-2A, allowing this guest worker program to work for Washington will not only help the most vulnerable small to mid-size farms but will benefit all agricultural operations and the ever-increasing number of workers. This study illustrates how vital the H-2A program is to Washington state and should be shared with as many people as possible.

Other sponsors include the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, Washington Farm Bureau, Stoel Rives LLP, and Moss Adams LLP.