More guest workers offering relief to growers this harvest season
YAKIMA, Wash. — Brad Carpenter is in the middle of hop harvest and, unlike previous years, isn’t running short of labor.
He just finished picking his crop of Gala apples and is comfortably harvesting about 45 acres of hops each 12-hour shift with 300 workers in Lower Valley fields.
“We seem to have a pretty good crew this year,” he said. “Prior to hop harvest, we had quite a few people sign up — we’re doing pretty well.”