Reply #22

In the discussion thread: Valley hit by worker shortage plaguing rest of U.S. [View all]

Tue Dec 11, 2012, 03:01 PM

LeftyMom (44,453 posts)

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

It takes a lot of fuel to either produce summer-like conditions or transport tomatoes from someplace where it's still summery enough to grow tomatoes in December.

No idea why you're paying so much for potatoes, that's highway robbery.

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73 replies	Author	Time	Post
Valley hit by worker shortage plaguing rest of U.S. [View all]	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

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