By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
HART — Dubbed the “Asparagus Capital of the World,” Oceana County is the leader in asparagus production. Michigan leads the nation in asparagus production, and 80 percent of the state’s asparagus is produced right here in Oceana County.
The National Asparagus Festival takes place this weekend in Hart, celebrating Oceana County’s annual asparagus season which typically runs from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day.
This year’s cool spring — interrupted by a few extremely hot days — has impacted the beloved green vegetable’s growth. “The weather has impacted harvest with cold stretches and then significant warmups,” said Jamie Clover Adams, executive director of the Michigan Asparagus Council. “I describe it as coming in fits and starts. This has created issues for our fresh packers and their ability to run their facility in a steady and efficient manner. I expect overall yields to be down this year compared to last year, but last year had the highest overall yields in about 20 years.
“The fits and starts of this season have made maintaining fresh asparagus quality difficult this season,” said Adams. “When it was cold earlier in the season, the asparagus grew very slowly, which provided more time for something to affect quality. However, the taste this year is as good as ever.”
Many Oceana County asparagus fields are harvested by H-2A temporary agricultural workers. The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents who meet specific regulatory requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. Growers have cited rising labor costs in recent years.
“Growers who use the H-2A program were able to get the workers they needed this year,” said Adams. “The industry is fortunate that our workers were in the country before the state department started, in some instances, double checking work done by the Department of Labor by contacting growers directly regarding their need for guest workers. This has slowed the arrival of guest workers for some growers in other parts of the country. Michigan was also fortunate that we didn’t see a significant increase in the H-2A wage set by the federal government. However, growers continue to look for ways to increase their efficiency as other input costs continue to rise.
“Other challenges include the impact of imports that saturate the fresh market during the Michigan asparagus season and the escalating cost of labor in the H-2A guest worker program. Regarding imports, growers and fresh packers continue to work together to improve asparagus quality and promote the benefits of fresh Michigan asparagus with consumers. On the labor front, growers are contacting their federal representatives and telling stories about how raising costs are negatively impacting their profitability and endangering the entire specialty crop industry.
“Current inflation doesn’t appear to be affecting the season in a significant way. The latest BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) data indicated that vegetable prices rose 0.5 percent from April to May. Consumer sentiment is lower than it’s been since the 1950s, which also plays into consumer spending decisions. Overall, there doesn’t seem to be a drag on buying.
“Michigan accounts for about 65 percent of the asparagus acres in the U.S. and about 59 percent of total asparagus production in the U.S. Michigan makes up 81 percent of processed asparagus production in the U.S. and 49 percent of production in the fresh market. Oceana County accounts for 80 percent of Michigan’s production. Peru and Mexico produce significantly more asparagus than Michigan because they produce year-round — Peru produces seven times what Michigan produces. In 2024, Peru shipped about the same amount of asparagus during our season that Michigan produced, but all of Peru’s imports were for the fresh market when only about 60 percent of Michigan’s crop goes to the fresh market.”
Oceana County remains the top producer of asparagus in Michigan, and Michigan is the leading producer in the country.
“I believe the future of the industry is promising,” said Adams. “There are challenges to be sure — including the escalating cost of labor, but we are seeing some new customers in the processed market and consumers continue to ask for fresh Michigan asparagus.”
Last year was an extremely productive year, said Adams. Michigan produced about 27 million pounds of asparagus with about 21.5 million pounds produced in Oceana County.
“Things are looking up this year. Our processors have been working hard over the past few years and are seeing the fruits of their labor this year with an increase in new private business. Michigan also received a USDA purchase with that product going into feeding programs across the country.”
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