8/31/2007 6:00:00 AM

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Raisin grape harvest is under way in Fresno County as workers pick Thompson Seedless grapes and lay them on paper trays to dry in the sun. The labor-intensive harvest will continue for the next several weeks as the ag industry lobbies the U.S. Senate to include an AgJOBS bill in the the 2007 Farm Bill.

Ag industry gears up for AgJOBS fight
Bill’s coauthor faces calls for resignation after guilty plea in sex sting revealed

Cecilia Parsons
Capital Press

Agriculture leaders and organizations in the West indicate they will soon be pressuring their representatives in Washington, D.C., to pass the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act - commonly known as AgJOBS - this fall as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.

Introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, the legislation failed in earlier attempts as part of a comprehensive immigration package. Opinions on its potential for success as a stand-alone bill and as a part of the farm bill differ among agriculture leaders, but they agree that the labor situation is critical.

Industry leaders are hoping it won't take crops rotting in the fields and a surge of imported food to convince Congress of the need for the legislation that would allow undocumented agriculture workers to legalize their immigration status.

Jack King, California Farm Bureau's national affairs division manager, said this week that the state's largest farm organization will be focusing on legislators who were not supportive of the last two attempts to pass immigration bills.

"Many who were not there last time - such as Sen. (Gordon) Smith from Oregon who voted against the measure - we will look for their support," King said.

He said the fresh start, including AgJOBS in the farm bill, gives the legislation a good chance of passing.

In Idaho, Sid Smith, spokesman for Craig, said growers are being asked to write letters describing their difficulties in securing labor for harvest and other critical jobs.

"There's lots of support for this on the ag side, but growers are not in the majority here and it has been an uphill battle convincing Idaho residents of the need for this measure," Smith said.

The number of migrant workers is small in Idaho, he said, but they are vital to the agriculture industry, working in potato and fruit harvests and on dairies, one of the fastest-growing segments of agriculture in Idaho.

"We've got to make our situation clear to the public, let them know how important AgJOBS is to agriculture," Smith said.

It may be difficult for Craig to lobby his Republican colleagues this fall due to his own political troubles. Craig is embroiled in scandal after news broke this week that he pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to a disorderly conduct charge stemming from his arrest June 11 in an airport bathroom in Minnesota. The arrest was the result of an undercover sting operation into lewd conduct.

On Aug. 27, Craig relinquished his role as Senate liaison to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign.

Republican leaders in the Senate called for an ethics committee review of Craig's guilty plea in the case Aug. 28. By Aug. 28, some of Craig's GOP colleagues in the Senate and House were calling for his resignation, including Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Pete Hoekstra of Michigan.

In a press conference in Boise on Aug. 28, Craig said, "I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport" and added that it was a mistake to plead guilty on complaints of lewd conduct.

Neither Feinstein nor her staff would comment Aug. 28 on what impact the Craig scandal might have on the AgJOBS bill.

Scott Gerber, a spokesman for Feinstein, said the senator is concentrating on moving the AgJOBS bill and said there would be no comment at this time on Craig.

While Craig's political future hangs in the balance and debate has yet to begin in the Senate on the 2007 Farm Bill, the agriculture industry is expecting increasing difficulty finding workers.

The citrus industry is expected to be among the first impacted by the no-match letters that will be sent to employers on Sept. 14. They have 30 days to correct the problem. If they can't, they must fire the worker in question. That timing coincides with a big push for the navel orange harvest in California.

Shirley Batchman of the grower group California Citrus Mutual said her organization plans to ask growers to contact their representatives in Washington.

She said the challenge would be on the House side along with persuading the public that a documented, legal workforce is crucial to the industry. Ironically, she said, it is the conservative Republican growers who must convince conservative urban lawmakers of the need for AgJOBS.

"A high percentage of the public believes that if we pay more money we will get American workers to do the job. We've got to explain why we need these people," Batchman said.

Mike Marsh, chief executive officer of Western United Dairymen, said his organization, which represents more than 60 percent of the milk produced in California, was one of the first in the state to join the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform.

He said WUD is in full support of Feinstein's efforts to pass AgJOBS because of the industry's critical need for a stable workforce. The organization also has a fulltime lobbyist in Washington, D.C, where Marsh said he is working full time to impress on Republican members of Congress how important the immigration measure is to the industry.

Among California congressional members, Marsh said the representatives to the north are backing AgJOBS, but Southern representatives still need convincing. Marsh also said he is counting on Rep. Devin Nunes, a Visalia, Calif., Republican who comes from a dairy background, to work on behalf of AgJOBS.

"We've got to counter a lot of misinformation and try to educate people. This remains one of our top legislative priorities," Marsh said.

Barry Bedwell, president of the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, said he expects the no-match enforcement to serve as a catalyst and to demonstrate the need for AgJOBS and immigration reform.

"We will be working with Congress to see if there is enough political will to move forward with the legislation," Bedwell said. That action will take place the week of Sept. 10 when United Fresh Produce Association will be meeting in Washington, he said.

The second part of the league's plan is to meet with other groups outside of agriculture to show them the unreasonableness of the no-match situation.

Staff writer Cecilia Parsons is based in Ducor, Calif. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.