A news story recently sent confusion and concern throughout the ag community when it was reported that Northwest Farm Management was permanently laying off nearly 300 workers.
That’s when CEO and Co-Founder Keith Veselka says he was alerted.
“Oh yeah, it was quite a shock. I think I got a notification from my business partner. He sent me the article, and I explained to him what was going on and really didn’t think much of it other than I thought it was weird that it got picked up, you know, by the press.”
But then, the word spread.
“Yeah, the next morning, I started getting phone calls and texts and, yeah, emails even, so I quickly realized that I needed to try to explain to our business partners and clients and everybody, just what was going on.”
Veselka says it was part of a new state law requiring layoff notifications for agriculture.
“To me, it was kind of a ‘nothing burger.’ We, you know, knew we needed to file just based on some guidance we had received and, yeah, didn’t think anything of it, and then it spun off into whatever it became.”
Because, Veselka says, it’s seasonal work.
“Turns out, we don’t pick apples year-round. Come November, we’re kind of out of fruit to pick. It ends our contract and, yeah, we’ll start anew next year.”
Veselka says nothing has really ever changed. It’s just a seasonal job.