Thread: Anyone understand why farmers need more workers every year

Correction, Thats a bad link, just type in State Grange and get a list of all of the state granges

Yes,

Corporate farming is putting the family farms at risk. Corporate buyers are the parasites that are zapping the life out of them every season. Everywhere the farmers turn, the costs of goods, equipment, services are escalating. but the product they sell is getting more and more subservient to corporate brokers who will suck any profits, reserve capital, and equities that a farmer just might still have. It is no small wonder that cheap labor is warmly welcomed at green acres. We need to find a common thread with the desperate farmers to start a working relationship on and see if we can form an alliance instead of fighting them or lumping them in with the rest of the OBL. There might be hope there. Where I am, we have many city people moving out a short distance to be among a quieter lifestyle. It might just be the "in" we need because that alone might be causing farmers to worry over the encroachment of civilization upon the farmlands. We might just show them what culture shock is in their own terms. I plan on taking any angle I think of, and I'm open to suggestions.
At first, I am thinking of approaching a mayor, or the church to see if they will let me arrange a meeting where I can bring a movie and some fliers. Along with that, I hope to arrange a forum with questions and answers. the beauty of it is, I don't think there will be any goonage at first, so it just might get off to a good start.

The National Grange has connections in Sacramento and DC and can also help with any workshop you may want set up and may even provide help in your quest. They would be very interseted in hearing your proposal.

Only 24% of the farm workers are illegals. It's been estimated that if the growers doubled their salaries the price of produce would only go up a fractional percentage of the current price. If it requires surrendering our country to Mexico for these guys to compete then let them go broke.
What happens when more of these jobs are automated. Will the agricultural workers imported from Mexico go to work for Bill Gates?

I/4 of your workforce should not be made up from illegaly employed persons. And I believe your number is are way understated just based on my observation here in the valley. We do not want the farmers to go broke. We need to help them work for a level playing field. if anything, we want to make the brokers go broke. If we bring thier problems, all of them...., to the forefront in the media, it will expose that the ag industry is being used as a shill to drive up the volumne of immigrants that other interests are pushing for with the senate bill.

I do agree that smaller family owned farms, do employ illegals. To be honest, they were the first in our area to do so. The men came to work on the dairies, then in the independent poultry houses, then the big guys caught the bug of cheap labor.

Now the cheapness of the labor, as in salaries, is not the only attractiveness of these workers. There is no responsibility. They don't have to keep any books on them, no responsibility for accidents, for anything. That makes it very easy on them.

But when someone says 24% of the workers in ag are illegals - they could be right - but that doesn't mean that 24% are out there harvesting crops or milking cows. Agriculture includes all those working in the processing houses, the meat packing, even those running the chicken farms. Personally, I think it also includes all those working in the offices of these industries. I have observed for a number of years and finally the newspaper has admitted it - all the recent arrivees are not undereducated chicken pluckers. They are well educated, middle class, dressed as well or better than many of us, manicured, and coiffed people. They also go into the 'ag workers' number.

One problem will be getting more help to save farming. For the last 3-4 decades people have looked down on farming as if it were some prehistoric way of life and not realizing were a good percentage of their food realy came from.

Boy, if that isn't true!!!!,

Everybody wants to be a billionaire, lawyer, doctor, etc....but most of them cannot grow, clean, or cook thier own foods. During a catastrophe, who will fare well? Farmers, Ranchers, and hunters, or the above mentioned lot?

If you live in the Sacramento Valley or the San Joaquin valley( I spent the longest year of my life in Fresno), the figures probably are wrong.But nationally that's probably not the case. My figure of 24% came believe it or not from the L.A. Times. I agree even 24% is totally unacceptable. I'd like to see them shoot for 0. My point is if big agriculture can't pay a wage that an American citizen can live on then maybe economic Darwinism should do it's job.

The Imperial valley is below sea level. I've always thought that they should make a cut from The Gulf of California to El Centro and flood the place and make an inland sea.Then as an alternative to agriculture we would have the benefit of good fishing and we'd get rid of Mexicali at the same time. THIS IS SAID IN JEST

Sounds good,

And we'll revive ole' ruse-evelts plan to use nukes to dig the channel. Aqua culture is going to become the next political hot potato soon since the powers that be have let commercial entities overfish the oceans so they could control that as well.

If the big quake comes to Cali we may have some new fishing grounds within a decade or two