Thread: Major grower ends crop, lacking workers

What I find funny about this grower is that many prisons in PA have their own prisoner-run farms. These are huge and they do sell their products, as well as grow their own food. How cool is that?

The prisoners get exercise, learn about agriculture and keep out of trouble. They grow their own food, cook it and eat it. Anything left over is sold at roadside stands and farmers markets. You can't beat that! It cuts down on taxpayers costs. Even growers using illegal aliens can't compete with free labor, can they?

I don't get it.
If this guy wanted to grow tomatoes and had no land, would the government be expected to supply it? If he had a sawmill and all the trees are gone, does the government bring him trees? Why do I have to live in a barrio for business to do business? Why do we have to keep growing unchecked? What about quality of life?

Eckel, who planted 2.2 million tomato plants last year, said he also will stop growing pumpkins and will plant half as much sweet corn as usual, resulting in a loss of nearly 175 jobs.

Eckel, one of the largest growers of fresh tomatoes in the Northeast, said it cost him $1.5 million to $2 million to plant and harvest a tomato crop - too much of an investment to risk not having enough workers at harvest time.

Multi-million dollar operation. Am sure the tomato exports from Mexico have hurt his business.

Though Eckel's tomato pickers made an average of $16.59 per hour last year, he said the relatively high wage is not enough to attract local labor to work the fields.

Eckel may pay his workers $16.95 an hour but consider the length of the tomato picking season--4 weeks at tops? The pumpkin picking season--4 weeks tops?

So he employs these workers for 4-8 weeks a year--how do they live the remaining 42-48 weeks of the year--government welfare and food stamps?
I seriously doubt if 175 H-2A workers would come to the U.S. for 4-8 weeks of work and go back to their home country.

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
Abraham Lincoln

SOSADFORUS wrote

..Geee maybe your illegal workers are now in construction, you think!!

EXACTLY! They don't want to admit that these farm jobs aren't appealing to illegal immigrants anymore except the newbies crossing the border..and even a large part of them don't want to work in the fields. If this jerk wants to go out of business because he refuses to pay a higher wage in order to attract workers..then let him drown!

Hey, time to grow your own!

Seriously, I have the last couple years and have a steady and abundant crop from about 9-10 plants from June well into November or December in my area.

Though Eckel's tomato pickers made an average of $16.59 per hour last year, he said the relatively high wage is not enough to attract local labor to work the fields.

"A lot of people think with immigration that we're talking about immigrants taking jobs from others. Let me tell you, there is no local labor that is going to go out and harvest those tomatoes in 90-degree temperatures except our immigrant labor," Eckel said. "They come here to do a job that no one else will do in this country."

Oh puhleeze! Sixteen plus per hour for picking tomatoes? Where do I sign up??? My 15 year old wants to sign up too! By the way, we are experienced at planting, tending and picking tomatoes, pun'kins, cukes, beans, corn and most anything else since WE GROW OUR OWN!

This guy just wants to have something to whine about. He knows corn will be more profitable and that's why he's switching over. A blind man could see through his little 'rant'. One can only hope he will use the harvesting machinery for his corn and not illegal labor.

If he wants his 'migrant' labor then APPLY FOR IT! Farmers have access to an UNLIMITED supply of LEGAL migrant labor. Also he might want to check into different varieties of tomatoes. There ARE early, mid and late season varieties- the latter coming in just before pun'kin pickin' time.

Me to and I have delicious canned tamatoes all winter I also can and blanch and freeze most of my other veggies.

Originally Posted by gofer

In my neck of the woods, "field" corn is not "sweet" corn, it's normally feed corn.

Yep.

And you can see the difference half a mile away

THIS PROCESS SAVES THE CORN FOR FOOD PURPOSES AND USES THE CORNCOBS FOR ETHANOL PRODUCTION.


Ethanol maker Poet seeks farmer support for cellulosic ethanol project
8:15 AM


DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Ethanol maker Poet wants Iowa farmers to hand over their corn cobs, and lots of them.

Three years from now, the nation's top ethanol producer hopes to use its plant in Emmetsburg to become one of the first refiners to produce cellulosic ethanol on a large scale.

But first Poet needs to convince area farmers to devote an estimated 270,000 acres to corn growing. Otherwise, the company won't have enough cobs to supply its $200 million Project Liberty cellulosic project.

"That's pretty much all of two counties' corn acres," said Craig Brownlee, a farmer and investor in the plant in northern Iowa.

Brownlee said there has been some skepticism in town about whether Poet could expand the plant by making ethanol from corn cobs and other plant cellulose.

Poet has been trying to sway the critics. Earlier this month it held what it called a "blast off" meeting attended by about 400 area farmers and agribusiness representatives.

Jim Sturdevant, director of Project Liberty for Poet, said the meeting was held to provide an overview of developments at the plant, which now consumes 17.5 million bushels of locally grown corn to produce 50 million gallons of ethanol a year.

"We want the community to know that Project Liberty is real," Sturdevant said.

Poet has pushed its projected completion date for the plant back a year to 2011, Brownlee said, so it will be at least a few growing seasons before Poet needs the cobs.

When expansion is complete, the plant will make 125 million gallons of ethanol a year, according to Poet. As much as 30 million gallons will be made from cobs and kernel hulls.

Poet will pay farmers $40 to $60 a ton for their cobs, Brownlee said. A farm bill under negotiation in Congress may allow farmers to also receive a federal supplement for their cobs.

Deere & Co., Case IH and Claas of America Inc. are working with Poet to develop implements that can harvest cobs efficiently, Sturdevant said.

"The major equipment companies are committed," Sturdevant said. "Cobs are doable."

Poet, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., has 22 plants that can pump out 1.2 billion gallons of ethanol

Link

Originally Posted by florgal

Though Eckel's tomato pickers made an average of $16.59 per hour last year, he said the relatively high wage is not enough to attract local labor to work the fields.

"A lot of people think with immigration that we're talking about immigrants taking jobs from others. Let me tell you, there is no local labor that is going to go out and harvest those tomatoes in 90-degree temperatures except our immigrant labor," Eckel said. "They come here to do a job that no one else will do in this country."

Oh puhleeze! Sixteen plus per hour for picking tomatoes? Where do I sign up??? My 15 year old wants to sign up too! By the way, we are experienced at planting, tending and picking tomatoes, pun'kins, cukes, beans, corn and most anything else since WE GROW OUR OWN!

This guy just wants to have something to whine about. He knows corn will be more profitable and that's why he's switching over. A blind man could see through his little 'rant'. One can only hope he will use the harvesting machinery for his corn and not illegal labor.

If he wants his 'migrant' labor then APPLY FOR IT! Farmers have access to an UNLIMITED supply of LEGAL migrant labor. Also he might want to check into different varieties of tomatoes. There ARE early, mid and late season varieties- the latter coming in just before pun'kin pickin' time.

This sounds like when McCain stated that no one in the US would pick lettuce for $50 an hour.

This guy just wants his illegal aliens instead of using legal migrant labor. My uncle ran an orchard for decades. He used workers who came from Jamaica for the harvest then went home when the crop was picked. Often the same people came back year after year.

Nonsense like this is why we need to GROW OUR OWN. Bring back the Victory Gardens. Even if all you have is a patio or balcony, you can grow a tomato plant. One plant could probably provide tomatoes for salad for two people. My neighbor plants them in a narrow area on the side of their house. Let's put this crook out of business.