Thread: CA Farmers finding enough workers - the sky is not falling

Farmers finding enough workers

Observers say housing slowdown may have shifted some labor back into agriculture

By John Holland
JHOLLAND@MODBEE.COM
Last Updated: August 31, 2007, 02:05:25 PM PDT
http://www.losbanosenterprise.com/local ... 7519c.html

The harvest labor force has been adequate so far this year, agricultural leaders said, but they still worry about shortages in the future.
Enough workers have turned out to make for smooth harvests of peaches, cherries and other handpicked crops in the northern San Joaquin Valley, they said.

"We continue to have a very tight labor supply, but we do not have shortages," said Jack King, manager of national affairs and research for the California Farm Bureau Federation.

In recent years growers have complained that seasonal farmworkers have been hard to find. Several factors were at play: the arduous nature of the work, the appeal of construction jobs when housing was booming, and the threat of immigration crackdowns.

Growers have responded by increasing pay and pushing for immigration reforms that would streamline the flow of workers. That legislation stalled in Congress this year, but backers hope to make one more push this summer.

The housing slowdown could have shifted some workers back into agriculture this year, King and other observers said.

They also said this summer's mild weather has made for a steady harvest, unlike last year, when extreme heat threw off the schedule.

Scott Long, a peach grower east of Ceres, said his harvest has gone "like clockwork."

"If there had been a great deal of heat, we would have needed more people to get the crop out faster," he said.

Long employs about 50 people in summer and 20 in the off-season.

This year has brought especially large crops of cherries, peaches, apricots and other fruit in the valley. Growers had worried that they would lack workers to thin and harvest the crops.

"It was tight, and we did have some growers who struggled to get through it," said Bill Ferreira, president of the Apricot Producers of California, based in Turlock.

King said growers have adapted to the labor situation by becoming more efficient -- for example, harvesting an orchard in a single pass, rather than several. He also said they have tried to spread out work, reducing the peaks and valleys in a farmworker's life.

The United Farm Workers has disputed claims of labor shortages in recent years, arguing that growers could hire plenty of people if they boosted pay and improved conditions. The union's spokeswoman could not be reached for comment on the current situation.

The valley relies much less on seasonal hand labor than in the past. Most tomatoes and many grapes are picked by machine. So are almonds and walnuts, which have supplanted many fruit orchards. And a good part of the region's agricultural employment is year-round, notably at dairy and poultry producers.

Still, hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers toil on California farms, most of them from Mexico, many of them here illegally.

One immigration reform proposal, from a coalition of growers and the UFW, would streamline the flow of temporary workers while providing a way to eventual citizenship.

The proposal could go forward as a stand-alone bill or as an attachment to other legislation, including the 2007 farm bill. The farm bill will outline federal farm spending over the next five years, and the people pushing it might not want to add the immigration language.

Bee Washington Bureau reporter Michael Doyle contributed to this report.; Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com

THERE ARE PLENTY OF WORKERS. I TOLD YOU THEY WOULD NOT LET THE FIELDS ROT. THEY CAN FIND WORKERS.....THEY JUST WANT CHEAP, POWERLESS, OBEDIENT SLAVES. THAT IS WHY THEY WANT ILLEGALS.

Originally Posted by zeezil

In recent years growers have complained that seasonal farmworkers have been hard to find. Several factors were at play: the arduous nature of the work,

I did this type of work when I was younger. It was not that hard to do, but it WAS hot sometimes. You learned how to deal with it