Apple producers in New York's Champlain Valley have traditionally harvested their crop using local and migrant workers, and supplemented this labor force with temporary foreign workers (Jamaicans). In recent years, obtaining certification to use Jamaicans through the U. S. Department of Labor has become increasingly difficult. There has been some concern that the use of foreign workers might be stopped completely. Obtaining skilled migrant crews has also become increasingly difficult, and growers in this area have suggested that the quality and availability of local workers have declined substantially. Thus, Champlain Valley apple growers have been and will be experiencing shifts in the composition and productivity of their harvest labor forces.