farm labor
Higher wages aren’t enough to fill farm labor jobs formerly held by immigrants
California farms are becoming the testing ground for the argument that wages and job prospects for American workers will improve when undocumented immigrants are not available. "So far, the results aren't encouraging for farmers or domestic workers," says the Los Angeles Times, despite offers of higher pay.
Trump asks Congress for merit-based immigration system
President Trump called for a new, merit-based immigration system limited to people who can support themselves, saying it would raise U.S. wages and boost the U.S. economy. The National Farmers Union said Trump's outline "neglects the unique and important work that immigrant laborers provide for our nation's food system and rural economies."
At a New Hampshire greenhouse, ‘no one touches anything’
The owners of a one-acre greenhouse in London, New Hampshire rely on automation to reduce the risk of contaminating the greens that go into its packages of lettuce blends, says Produce Retailer. "From seeding to harvest to packaging, no one touches anything" at lef Farms, which sold its first order in January.
Some say produce industry’s ‘Ethical Charter’ is rotten
A new “Ethical Charter” drawn up by two of America’s largest produce associations promises to keep workers safer and ensure humane treatment on farms. But critics say the document is a two-page example of “greenwashing,” light on details and action, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Congress looks at border security, not immigration reform
Republican leaders in Congress say that immigration reform will take a back seat to improved border security on their legislative agenda for 2017, reports Bloomberg. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters, "I don't think anything changes on immigration until we secure the border."
Anxiety among farm groups as battle lines harden on immigration reform
When Donald Trump announced his campaign for president, he promised to deport all undocumented workers if elected. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best ...[T]hey’re sending people that have lots of problems,” Trump told reporters at Trump Tower in New York City. U.S. farmers might have noted that Mexico also sends the majority of the workforce on American farms, a workforce that dropped more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2014.
After voting heavily for Trump, rural America wants to change his mind
President-elect Donald Trump carried almost all of the farm states, from the Carolinas across the Midwest into the Plains, rolling up a 2-to-1 margin against Democrat Hillary Clinton with promises of lower taxes and less regulation. Farm groups, with a politically conservative membership, said they hoped to educate him on the importance of exports for farm prosperity.
Immigrant dairy workers are economic spark in rural Kansas
When Kansas dairy farmers expanded their herds and couldn't recruit enough local labor, they began recruiting immigrants from Central America as long-term employees with effects that are altering rural society and economics, according to Kansas State University researchers. Associate sociology professor Alisa Garni says immigrant labor and economic development have gone hand in hand.
Japan plans ‘working holidays’ to get young people into rural areas
Japan's internal affairs ministry will launch a so-called working holiday project in 2017, designed to bring students and young employees into rural areas to work in factories, on farms and in the tourism sector, says the Nikkei news agency. The goal is to stimulate consumption in rural areas while addressing labor shortages.
Trump ag team packed with governors, big farmers and an ethanol foe
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump named a 64-member agricultural advisory committee that includes six farm-state governors, the chairmen of the House and Senate Agriculture committees, some of the biggest farm operators in the country, and an Iowa entrepreneur mentioned as a potential Trump agriculture secretary. The group also includes an oil-industry executive who opposes the so-called ethanol mandate and who founded a group that challenges animal-welfare groups.
Dairy farmers say Trump immigration plan would leave them short of workers
The proposal by businessman Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, "to deport undocumented immigrants and wall off the southern U.S. border has created an unexpected bastion of resistance: Dairy farmers," says Bloomberg. "Farmers say they can't get enough relatives or local workers, even with pay starting at $11 an hour or more."
Saddling up to ride herd, a robot from Australia
A common job for cowboys — for some, it's an all-day duty — is riding through herds to check on cattle health. With labor getting harder to find, Salah Sukkarieh, an Australian professor of robots, is developing a solar- and electric-powered four-wheel robot to handle the work, reports the Washington Post.
Uneven outcome for farmworkers in Baja California
A 12-week strike by farmworkers in the San Quintin Valley of Baja California, 200 miles south of San Diego, disrupted produce markets across North America and forced concessions from powerful agribusinesses a year ago.
Fewer migrant farmworkers follow the crops, pointing to labor shortages
Since the turn of the century, far fewer farmhands are going on the road. A Ball State University study found that 20 percent of farmworkers performed migratory labor in 2009, dramatically lower than the 53 percent of 1998.
Will a higher California pay rate mean more machines and fewer ag jobs?
Industry insiders say the agreement between legislators and labor unions to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022 in California "could lead to job losses throughout agriculture, escalate the push toward mechanization and send some farm operations out of state," said Capital Press.
America’s foreign-born sheepherders are finally getting a raise
More than 1,600 foreign-born sheepherders in the western U.S. are finally getting a pay raise, says High Country News. Brought to the U.S. under the H-2A visa program, the workers are allowed in the country for three years at a time.
Campaign for better pay for farm workers expands reach
The Fair Food Program, the result of a years-long effort by tomato-farm laborers in Florida for better pay and working conditions, continues to expand, reports Modern Farmer.
The cows wear ‘FitBits,’ the dairy farmer reads them
David Simmons was the first dairy farmer in Newfoundland to install a robotic milking parlor for this cattle. He "is just one of many who are turning to cutting edge technology" to monitor livestock health, says the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Judge blocks federal rule allowing H-2A workers to unionize
U.S. district judge Lisa Wood issued a 17-state injunction on Monday against a Labor Department regulation that would allow farmworkers in the United States on H-2A visas to unionize. The National Council of Agricultural Employers said the injunction was a victory for U.S. farmers and ranchers.