New Brunswick potato producers try hotline to deal with labour issues

摘要

New Brunswick's potato industry is taking the bull by the horns to solve its harvest labour shortage. Potatoes New Brunswick set up a Harvest Hotline last fall after repeated annual scrambles to find workers. A booming economy in western New Brunswick coupled with fewer schools taking part in the potato break always seemed to leave farmers short of workers. Unemployment figures in the region hover around four per cent. Patton MacDonald, executive director of Potatoes New Brunswick, said the employment hotline was set up to pair farmers with willing workers.