Birmingham Business Journal by Antrenise Cole, Reporter

Date: Thursday, December 29, 2011, 2:26pm CST

Federal and state officials, as well as 200 agribusiness owners and farmers, attended the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries’ public meeting in early December to discuss alternatives to the chronic labor shortages created by Alabama’s new immigration law.


A video of that meeting can be seen here on the department’s website.


When Alabama’s new immigration law went into effect earlier this year, tens of thousands of Latino workers moved out of state, leaving many farmers and agribusinesses, such as producers of poultry and catfish product as well as nursery growers, without a sufficient number of workers.


With a statewide shortage of labor in the $5.5 billion agriculture industry, the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries expects the December meeting to yield measurable results.


The department’s grassroots approach to the chronic labor shortage will be aided by the work of several federal and state officials and community leaders:


• U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown of the Southern Alabama Federal District has formed a program to help men and women to transition from prison to the work place. Brown attended the meeting to discuss how he could help.


• Robert Brantley, employment director for the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, and his department are working with farmers and agribusinesses to direct potential workers to job sites around the state.


• Other organizations, including ministers from Mobile and Prichard, have reached out to people in their communities and have identified at least 1,000 men and women available for work.

Antrenise Cole covers banking, finance, small business lending, venture capital, accounting and law for the Birmingham Business Journal.

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