Tue Dec 11, 2012, 12:38 PM

Valley hit by worker shortage plaguing rest of U.S.

Source: visalia times

Farmers from California to New York struggled to find enough people to harvest their crops this season, a shortage they blame on federal bureaucratic requirements, a sharp decline in migrant laborers willing to cross the U.S.-Mexican border and the greater availability of non-farm work in the slowly improving economy.

State laws designed to crack down on migrant laborers, who make up the bulk of the nation’s seasonal farm workers, are also to blame, agriculture officials say.

“We see shortages in all parts of the country,” said Kristi Boswell, director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau. “Farmers are struggling with fewer bodies out there to harvest the crop. They’re definitely stressed.”

A California Farm Bureau Federation survey released this month showed widespread shortages throughout the state, especially among growers of labor-intensive crops like tree fruits, vegetables and berries. Sixty-one percent of the nearly 800 growers surveyed said they were shorthanded by a little or a lot this year.

Read more: http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20121211/ROI/312110014

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73 replies	Author	Time	Post
Valley hit by worker shortage plaguing rest of U.S. (Original post)	AlphaCentauri	Dec 2012	OP
Raise wages. Problem solved. NT	Trillo	Dec 2012	#1
Simple	Roy Rolling	Dec 2012	#2
Not if there are no takers.	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#5
Did the growers raise the wage they were offering???? If not, then I don't	coalition_unwilling	Dec 2012	#6
See my reply #12, below	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#13
Only by 50%	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#46
Well there's the problem. 'Reasonably' increased wages.	denverbill	Dec 2012	#9
We pay per ton.	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#12
How can Europe do it?	Clouseau2	Dec 2012	#15
I'll get back to you on that	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#19
See my #17. nt	jody	Dec 2012	#23
Just a thought, don't buy the wine if you can't afford to	upaloopa	Dec 2012	#31
A good picker can make a couple of hundred dollars a day. nt	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#34
How many days a year is that	upaloopa	Dec 2012	#41
Your link reminds me	dipsydoodle	Dec 2012	#57
Why are there so many people growing grapes?	upaloopa	Dec 2012	#29
Because wine consumption is through the roof.	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#36
really, they should all be growing pot.	olddad56	Dec 2012	#37
How much more are you willing to pay for food?	Agnosticsherbet	Dec 2012	#16
How do you deal with the seasonal nature of planting, cultivating, and harvesting? nt	jody	Dec 2012	#24
Excellent point	primavera	Dec 2012	#58
Exactly. nt	jody	Dec 2012	#60
Historically there was a pool of low wage migrant labor that followed the seasons.	Agnosticsherbet	Dec 2012	#66
I have heard this crap before. The cost to pay a reasonable wage to harvest is less that	Vincardog	Dec 2012	#28
Kind of depends upon what one considers reasonable, doesn't it?	primavera	Dec 2012	#62
You are talking about several million workers.	Agnosticsherbet	Dec 2012	#67
I will gladly pay the extra 2% that doubling ag workers pay would add to my food bill. Your	Vincardog	Dec 2012	#71
Your belief that only 2% increase will accrue...	Agnosticsherbet	Dec 2012	#72
One of us seems to be defending the status quo. I like the way you put words in my mouth	Vincardog	Dec 2012	#73
Not true. The biggest factor in food prices is the overhead of non-productive corporate	Egalitarian Thug	Dec 2012	#63
But the cost will be passed to you and me.	Agnosticsherbet	Dec 2012	#68
Does the state pay for the healthcare, etc. for farm workers or do	JDPriestly	Dec 2012	#3
The burden is pushed onto the counties. I work for Santa Barbara County	upaloopa	Dec 2012	#35
Low wages are not the problem, it's hard physical labor and sometimes being paid by the unit. Those	jody	Dec 2012	#4
They are looking for permission to abuse people.	justice1	Dec 2012	#7
And how many of these farmers need cheap labor because they are working for agri-corporations that	kelliekat44	Dec 2012	#18
My home area is agricultural. The big crops are asparagus, cherries and apples.	amandabeech	Dec 2012	#47
Tomatoes at $4 AND SOME close to five dollars a pound.	julian09	Dec 2012	#8
Do co ops receive subsidies for the crops experiencing labor shortages? Except for tobacco which is	jody	Dec 2012	#11
Of course tomatoes are $4, it's December.	LeftyMom	Dec 2012	#22
Bananas are cheap about .59c to .80c a pound and come from much further away and tropical climates.	julian09	Dec 2012	#39
Tomato juice and spaghetti sauce are cheap because they're canned when tomatoes are naturally ripe,	LeftyMom	Dec 2012	#43
Who wants to be a migrant?	TwilightGardener	Dec 2012	#10
California Farm Bureau Federation, what is this important sounding agency?	olddad56	Dec 2012	#14
The Farm Bureau, founded in 1911 to off set the much more progressive Grange	happyslug	Dec 2012	#56
Posts to this thread show little to no understanding of the problems facing agriculture both	jody	Dec 2012	#17
Despite what you might think, we do have everything from grapes to orchards here.	justice1	Dec 2012	#20
I'm not sure "teenagers to harvest the fields on the weekends" is a viable option for some crops. nt	jody	Dec 2012	#21
It would allow their workforce to have some time off, and my kids have done it without problems.	justice1	Dec 2012	#40
Teenagers in vineyards? Recipe for disaster.	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#26
So, what's the going rate for a skilled grape harvester?	hedgehog	Dec 2012	#30
We were offering $300/ton, up from $200 last Harvest	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#32
OK, let's take that apart a little -	hedgehog	Dec 2012	#38
I'll try to explain...	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#44
"In years past, they made enough to support their families in Mexico until the next harvest"	hedgehog	Dec 2012	#49
That's just what they do	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#50
It's the Real World, but people need to understand where cheap food comes from.	hedgehog	Dec 2012	#51
The dairy farmers are getting hosed	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#53
I'm in Upstate New York, near Lake Ontario.	hedgehog	Dec 2012	#54
Heh, we are in Ryebrook (near White Plains) for a few days.	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#55
So there are six guys picking. Are there six guys and gals at the management company?	Trillo	Dec 2012	#65
I don't know the number	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#69
Nail on the head	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#27
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said farmings “becoming less and less relevant”. His statement is	jody	Dec 2012	#42
No shit?	DollarBillHines	Dec 2012	#45
I worked my way through college picking flowers in Florida	fasttense	Dec 2012	#25
You cannot compare Florida	Sekhmets Daughter	Dec 2012	#33
In the '50s and '60s in my home area, you'd see lots of Mexican plates	amandabeech	Dec 2012	#48
Is this why tree nuts are running about $20/lb these days??	kestrel91316	Dec 2012	#52
American fruit and vegetable farmers are now in competition with foreign suppliers for the domestic	hedgehog	Dec 2012	#59
You've hinted at what has and is happening. Government subsidies (corporate welfare) has so	Egalitarian Thug	Dec 2012	#64
Russia is in the WTO now and a customer for almonds and other nuts. nt	jody	Dec 2012	#61
With tight borders they've lost that next generation to exploit for cheap labor ...	Wernothelpless	Dec 2012	#70

Response to AlphaCentauri (Original post)

Tue Dec 11, 2012, 12:41 PM

Trillo (7,229 posts)

Valley hit by worker shortage plaguing rest of U.S.

1. Raise wages. Problem solved. NT

2. Simple

5. Not if there are no takers.

6. Did the growers raise the wage they were offering???? If not, then I don't

13. See my reply #12, below

46. Only by 50%

9. Well there's the problem. 'Reasonably' increased wages.

12. We pay per ton.

15. How can Europe do it?

19. I'll get back to you on that

23. See my #17. nt

31. Just a thought, don't buy the wine if you can't afford to

34. A good picker can make a couple of hundred dollars a day. nt

41. How many days a year is that

57. Your link reminds me

29. Why are there so many people growing grapes?

36. Because wine consumption is through the roof.

37. really, they should all be growing pot.

16. How much more are you willing to pay for food?

24. How do you deal with the seasonal nature of planting, cultivating, and harvesting? nt

58. Excellent point

60. Exactly. nt

66. Historically there was a pool of low wage migrant labor that followed the seasons.

28. I have heard this crap before. The cost to pay a reasonable wage to harvest is less that

62. Kind of depends upon what one considers reasonable, doesn't it?

67. You are talking about several million workers.

71. I will gladly pay the extra 2% that doubling ag workers pay would add to my food bill. Your

72. Your belief that only 2% increase will accrue...

73. One of us seems to be defending the status quo. I like the way you put words in my mouth

63. Not true. The biggest factor in food prices is the overhead of non-productive corporate

68. But the cost will be passed to you and me.

3. Does the state pay for the healthcare, etc. for farm workers or do

35. The burden is pushed onto the counties. I work for Santa Barbara County

4. Low wages are not the problem, it's hard physical labor and sometimes being paid by the unit. Those

7. They are looking for permission to abuse people.

18. And how many of these farmers need cheap labor because they are working for agri-corporations that

47. My home area is agricultural. The big crops are asparagus, cherries and apples.

8. Tomatoes at $4 AND SOME close to five dollars a pound.

11. Do co ops receive subsidies for the crops experiencing labor shortages? Except for tobacco which is

22. Of course tomatoes are $4, it's December.

39. Bananas are cheap about .59c to .80c a pound and come from much further away and tropical climates.

43. Tomato juice and spaghetti sauce are cheap because they're canned when tomatoes are naturally ripe,

10. Who wants to be a migrant?

14. California Farm Bureau Federation, what is this important sounding agency?

56. The Farm Bureau, founded in 1911 to off set the much more progressive Grange

17. Posts to this thread show little to no understanding of the problems facing agriculture both

20. Despite what you might think, we do have everything from grapes to orchards here.

21. I'm not sure "teenagers to harvest the fields on the weekends" is a viable option for some crops. nt

40. It would allow their workforce to have some time off, and my kids have done it without problems.

26. Teenagers in vineyards? Recipe for disaster.

30. So, what's the going rate for a skilled grape harvester?

32. We were offering $300/ton, up from $200 last Harvest

38. OK, let's take that apart a little -

44. I'll try to explain...

49. "In years past, they made enough to support their families in Mexico until the next harvest"

50. That's just what they do

51. It's the Real World, but people need to understand where cheap food comes from.

53. The dairy farmers are getting hosed

54. I'm in Upstate New York, near Lake Ontario.

55. Heh, we are in Ryebrook (near White Plains) for a few days.

65. So there are six guys picking. Are there six guys and gals at the management company?

69. I don't know the number

27. Nail on the head

42. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said farmings “becoming less and less relevant”. His statement is

45. No shit?

25. I worked my way through college picking flowers in Florida

33. You cannot compare Florida

48. In the '50s and '60s in my home area, you'd see lots of Mexican plates

52. Is this why tree nuts are running about $20/lb these days??

59. American fruit and vegetable farmers are now in competition with foreign suppliers for the domestic

64. You've hinted at what has and is happening. Government subsidies (corporate welfare) has so

61. Russia is in the WTO now and a customer for almonds and other nuts. nt

70. With tight borders they've lost that next generation to exploit for cheap labor ...