State ag commissioner briefs local farmers


Hooker (file):
"... they are here"
Pine Island – State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker Friday night briefed Orange County farmers about the programs being advanced by the governor. He addressed the annual Orange County Farm Bureau dinner at the Jolly Onion Inn.

Among the hot topics was immigrant labor. Local farmers have consistently said they rely on those workers, including undocumented ones, to plant and harvest their crops.

Hooker acknowledged their concerns and the need for those workers. [b]“Everyone, whether it’s in farming or whether it’s in the hospitality business or any other number of places where people are working, I don’t think it’s reasonable in any way, shape or form all of these folks can go home,â€