Thread: Letter of Response From a Local Farmer

This is a letter of response I received from a local farmer. I was trying to get part-time employment there, in the fields, and this was their response.

I believe that they are sincere; they are respected in the community. I actually asked in my response to this letter that I be allowed to answer their advertisement for work for the 2011 season, but that I would have to work part-time. One thing that I failed to mention was that they would be more successful finding people if they did allow for part-time employment. Many Americans won't do it full-time, mainly because it doesn't pay enough and probably doesn't have health benefits.

Let me know your observations.

Thanks,

Ostrich
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Thanks for your feedback and inquiring about a job - we appreciate hearing everyone's viewpoints!

We just wanted to give you our viewpoint on hiring American workers for laborers on the farm. We try every year to hire Americans - we are actually required by law to advertise and hire Americans before migrant workers. In the past two years we have had a worker who didn't show up for work after several weeks of training and time on our part to get her acquainted with the job. About a month after she left the Secret Service showed up looking for her because she was wanted for identity theft. We also provided her with housing and a vehicle, out of the goodness of our hearts, to try to help her "get on her feet". We've hired veterans - one who lasted three days before telling us this wasn't the job for him and another one who didn't show up for work after the police came to the farm looking for him in relation to a theft where he was living. And this year the only "American" applicants we had were refugees from Nepal who had all the correct paperwork to legally work and live in the US. Again, we were required by law to hire them because they were considered American workers. After much time on our part to figure out the logistics of their transportation, paperwork, and communication, they simply didn't show up for work on their first day. That was in March and we still haven't heard from them.

So, as you can see, finding American workers for the jobs we have isn't easy. And while we appreciate the research you have done and the fact that you even have an interest in farming and the labor that is necessary to run a full-time farming operation, the research doesn't tell you the daily stories and experiences we've had. Also keep in mind that while all of this has gone on with our American laborers, we've still have a farm to run where there is work to be done every day. If someone just leaves or doesn't show up, we have days of work that we have to catch up on while trying to fill their spots.

We also pay our migrant workers $9.72 an hour - our laws require that we pay them that. So please don't assume that we hire them because they are "cheap labor". We hire them because they are reliable, honest, hard-working and dependable. They come here from February to November on work visas specifically to work for us. They work longer than full-time hours each week in the heat, rain, and mud. They leave their families for months at a time so they can provide better for them and we would not be able to do what we do without them. Some have been with us for 7 years - longer than our oldest son - but none for no less than three. They are like family to us.

I think that part of the disconnect that comes between American citizens and farmers is that many Americans no longer enjoy, or are interested in, physical labor. Or at least they no longer think of a physical job as their main income. We need people full-time who are reliable and dependable and focused on working for us - not just doing it part-time because it's fun. And I don't mean that to sound condescending or to belittle your interest. I simply mean that we are trying to run a farm and a business. And of course we enjoy it, but it's not just fun for us. We're raising and supporting our three children on this farm. We're saving for their college education and our retirement. This is our full-time job and we need people working for us in the fields full-time.

I hope this answers your email and gives you a little more insight into the labor issues farmers face. Again, we didn't mean any of it to be condescending or to belittle your beliefs. We appreciate you sharing your viewpoint with us and hope that you look for us the next time you're at the farm!

This farmer makes very good points from his perspective; our magnificent agricultural sector and self-sufficiency in food production have been major factors which have made our country great. U.S. farmers deserve to be able to count on a good supply of willing and qualified workers each year; below is how Canada does this using legal foreign workers (while fully protecting their rights and wages), and how we should be able to do it also:

Please petition your congressional representatives to reform our H-1B Temporary Workers in Agriculture program along the lines of Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Workers Porgram (SAWP) - link below - which evidently has worked successfully for decades! Under SAWP, the Canadian government contracts directly with other foreign governments, primarily that of Mexico, for seasonal agricultural workers. The foreign governments themselves select the seasonal workers from their country who will participate in the program each year. Canada inspects the operations of the farmers before they certify them as qualified employers, and guarantees all the workers' labor rights and full payment of their wages in Canada. At the end of their employment, all the seasonal agricultural workers are transported directly back to their home countries. (by Air Canada, I think). Both Canadian planter/growers and the workers themselves are satisfied with the SAWP program, and the question of giving such workers resident status in Canada plays no part of it.

http://www.rhdcc-hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workpl ... _tfw.shtml

While some visa programs (such as H1-B, for example) really have been used to replace fully qualified U.S. citizen employees with foreign workers at a lower scale of wages and benefits, the traditional "great farm belt" of our nation has become a "ghost area" as fewer and fewer people born there are willing to remain and work in the agricultural sector (and this includes their own family farms), but prefer instead to move to urban areas. Some male farmers in the northern Great Plains now are having difficulty finding wives because so few Americans wish to live on and do farm work now.

Thanks Texas2Step. I actually like what the Canadian program offers.

Do you think that working there part-time is a good idea, or would it actually be a detriment to the farmers, as they are specifically seeking full-time people? I guess that that is my main problem with them. I think that some Americans of good moral character (like me) would be willing to work part-time, but not full-time, mainly because it doesn't pay enough and doesn't offer benefits.

Let me know what you think, and thanks.

Ostrich

TheOstrich wrote:

"Thanks Texas2Step. I actually like what the Canadian program offers.

Do you think that working there part-time is a good idea, or would it actually be a detriment to the farmers, as they are specifically seeking full-time people? I guess that that is my main problem with them. I think that some Americans of good moral character (like me) would be willing to work part-time, but not full-time, mainly because it doesn't pay enough and doesn't offer benefits.

Let me know what you think, and thanks.

Ostrich"

I think the farmer himself answered your question in the very courteous and detailed email he took time from his busy schedule to write:

"We need people full-time who are reliable and dependable and focused on working for us - not just doing it part-time because it's fun. And I don't mean that to sound condescending or to belittle your interest. I simply mean that we are trying to run a farm and a business. And of course we enjoy it, but it's not just fun for us. We're raising and supporting our three children on this farm. We're saving for their college education and our retirement. This is our full-time job and we need people working for us in the fields full-time."

I'm glad you read about and liked Canada's SAWP program; if they can do this, why can't we? The main, crucial difference between our H-1A Visas Program and theirs appears to be that Canada contracts directly with the government supplying the agricultural workers and also inspects all the farms in Canada where they will be working. In that way, the governments involved, nor individuals, insure the quality of what is supplied from both ends and the integrity of the program for all involved.

While I can agree it is hard work, and probably does not pay enough, that is true for many jobs out there.

Those people this farmer hired, who were Americans, obviously were already dysfunctional in their thinking about work, and had very little work ethics, this is not true for all Americans. Many of us will do janitorial work, which pays minimal, hours not always good and work can be quite hard and at times disgusting.

However, this is one farmers experience, in one state. See it for what it is. If they truly have legal papers for the people there, and all is in order, then I have respect for them for following the laws to hire those who are on work visas only, not many will do what they have done.

I think that this farmer is pretty decent. I don't think I'll persuade him further with my part-time argument. He presents his case very well.

I'm going to keep searching around for another farm, or I will seek landscaping. I do need the extra income, and will take whatever job I get seriously, but I do understand that he's been burned before by incompetent employees (or criminals in some cases) and wishes to avoid that in the future.

Ostrich

First, $9.75 an hour is not decent pay. Furthermore, just because the farmer said he has tried to hire Americans in the past does not mean he has actually done so. What is he going to say? That he does not hire Americans...or has not given any Americans the chance to do the job? Of course he is not going to say that.

What he is saying is that NOT ONE American worker that he has ever hired has worked out for him. NOT EVEN ONE. Sorry....I dont believe that. American workers are every bit as dependable as any foreign worker.

There are clues to his prejudice....for instance, he mentions that the foreign workers are willing to leave their families for months at a time. How is that a benefit to his business? The fact that they are away from their families has no affect on the farmer or his business. Many American workers leave their families for extended periods. Truck drivers do it...and there are other professions that require this as well. He is just parrotting the same OBL bs. Of course the letter is polite....he is scared you are going to publish it all over the internet so he is minding his manners.

Originally Posted by TheOstrich

I think that this farmer is pretty decent. I don't think I'll persuade him further with my part-time argument. He presents his case very well.

I'm going to keep searching around for another farm, or I will seek landscaping. I do need the extra income, and will take whatever job I get seriously, but I do understand that he's been burned before by incompetent employees (or criminals in some cases) and wishes to avoid that in the future.

Ostrich

Are you comfortable with being discriminated against based on your nationality? He has told you in writing that he has classified you with regard to your nationality. He does not know you and has not given you a chance. He is basing his opinion of ALL AMERICANS on what seems to me to be only a couple people...if his story is true.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by TheOstrich

I think that this farmer is pretty decent. I don't think I'll persuade him further with my part-time argument. He presents his case very well.

I'm going to keep searching around for another farm, or I will seek landscaping. I do need the extra income, and will take whatever job I get seriously, but I do understand that he's been burned before by incompetent employees (or criminals in some cases) and wishes to avoid that in the future.

Ostrich

Are you comfortable with being discriminated against based on your nationality? He has told you in writing that he has classified you with regard to your nationality. He does not know you and has not given you a chance. He is basing his opinion of ALL AMERICANS on what seems to me to be only a couple people...if his story is true.

Yeah I agree with you RedPony .I think he was polite but did so because this is the story he is telling so he can possibly gain sympathy or smooz Immigration authorities to keep his slave labor (if you work someone like a dog I call that abuse and slavery even if you pay a so so wage).

Ostrich if the farm is close I would pay them a visit,like he said and who knows maybe he would have a change of heart once ou meet face to face.

I also agree with the Canadian seasonal worker plan.Sounds like a win win situation to me.

Any why does he and his neighbors get to gether anc co-op out equipment to do the work! Hello, there is equipment that does a lot of this work and can be used in all the farms.

Look it up, Google Automated Farming Equipment!
You only get 1,090,000 HITS!

Grrrrr....