Already stretched growers in the US are concerned they may be struck by labour shortages next season.

California-based newspaper the Modesto Bee reported that although the harvest labour force has been adequate so far this year, growers have complained that seasonal workers are hard to find.

"We continue to have a very tight labor supply, but we do not have shortages," Jack King, manager of national affairs and research for the California Farm Bureau Federation told the paper.

Workers are discouraged by the arduous nature of the work, and the appeal of construction jobs during the state’s recent housing industry boom. Growers responded by increasing pay and reducing the ‘peaks and troughs’ of work.

Another problem for growers is stringent immigration regulations, which discourage workers from immigrating. “Hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers toil on California farms, most of them from Mexico, many of them here illegally,” wrote the paper.

The paper said that farming union United Farm Workers has disputed the claims of labour shortages, arguing that if growers improved conditions and raised pay, it would be easier to find workers.

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