farmworkers
Trump backs merit plan that halves legal immigration
Returning to a signature issue of his campaign, President Trump endorsed a Senate bill for a skills-based system for immigration that could have a distant effect on farm labor because it would halve the flow of legal immigrants. The Ag Workforce Coalition of farm groups said it "continues to work with key lawmakers on legislation that would address agriculture's needs" for a legal and reliable supply of farm workers with hopes the issue will gain traction in the fall.
Hand-wringing and hand-holding ahead of NAFTA talks
At nearly the same time Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was calming fears of a downturn in U.S.-Mexico agricultural trade, some Mexican farm groups demanded that agriculture be left out of the "new NAFTA" negotiations that begin in 16 days.
Democrats push bill to ban pesticide blamed for brain damage
A group of Democratic Senators, led by Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, introduced a bill to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos over health concerns, after the EPA refused to take it off shelves earlier this spring. “Udall's bill calls for the EPA to conduct a broad review of the use of the pesticide to determine which groups are most vulnerable to its harmful effects,” says Reuters.
House Judiciary chair aims for new agricultural guestworker program
During his time as House Agriculture chairman a decade ago, Rep. Bob Goodlatte says he learned firsthand that the H-2A agricultural guestworker program is outdated and should be replaced. Now the House Judiciary chairman, Goodlatte says he will sponsor a bill for a new guestworker program that, in addition to foreign workers recruited to work in America, could cover the tens of thousands of undocumented farmworkers already in the country — but with no pathway to permanent legal status.
With community opposition, foreign workers struggle to find housing
Guest farmworkers recruited to the U.S. under the H-2A visa program are guaranteed a free place to stay, with the costs covered by their employer. But many towns in California don’t want to see non-native workers living in their midst, fearful that the newcomers will bring crime and traffic and lower property rates, says Los Angeles Times.
Orchard owners in China use drones to offset labor shortage
Farmers in part of Shanxi Province in northern China flew drones over their orchards to spray pesticides on the trees and saved money in the process, according to the state news agency, Xinhua. It quoted a 60-year-old farmer as saying the drones "are a godsend."
A U.S.-Mexico cultural exchange of sorts for Wisconsin farmer and his workers
For dairy farmer John Rosenow, diversity in his hometown of Cochrane, Wis., near the Mississippi River "was whether you were Polish or Norwegian." Rosenow resisted hiring foreign workers but eventually ran out of options and began hiring workers from Mexico, says Marketplace. The story describes how Rosenow ended up making nine trips to coastal Veracuz "to better understand the language and culture of his workers."
Immigrant farmworkers in Central Valley ‘terrified’ of future
In today’s uncertain climate for immigrants, undocumented workers in the farm communities of California’s Central Valley are terrified of what may come next, says Jesus Martinez of the immigrant rights group, CIVIC. “There’s a generalized fear about how the anti-immigrant policies can impact them, to the extent that even permanent residents are fearful about how their status might be revoked without any justification,” Martinez told FERN’s Ag Insider.
Immigration high on Trump’s list for congressional action
President Donald Trump "has already started to work with Congress" for funding to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, said White House press secretary Sean Spicer. At his first White House news briefing, Spicer listed immigration reform among four items for immediate congressional action while the administration gives first priority to deportation of undocumented immigrants with a criminal record or who pose a security risk.
Delay asked on EPA rules on farmworkers and pesticides
The largest U.S. farm organization and state agriculture directors petitioned the EPA to delay the Jan. 2 implementation of revised pesticide safety rules for growers and farmworkers. Under the rules, for the first time, people under the age of 18 years will be prohibited from handling pesticides.
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.
Trump ‘looking very hard’ at naming a rancher, or farmer, EPA chief
National policy adviser Sam Clovis says the Trump campaign is "looking very hard at putting a farmer or rancher in charge of the EPA." Given the impact that federal regulations can have on the sector, Clovis said on the AgriTalk radio program, "we think this would be an appropriate issue for us."
California lawmakers vote for overtime pay for farmworkers
It's up to Gov Jerry Brown to decide if California farmworkers will be paid overtime for working more than eight hours in a day. Only weeks after defeating an overtime bill, the state Assembly passed, 44-32, a bill calling for a four-year phase-in of overtime rules beginning in 2019 and resulting in overtime pay beginning in 2022, says the Los Angeles Times.
CA Assembly revives overtime bill for farmworkers
A bill to improve farmworker pay is back in front of the California Assembly after failing by four votes in June. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez brought the law back to the floor by tucking it into an unrelated proposal, Assembly Bill 1066, says the LA Times.
Campaign for immigration reform aims for action in 2017
The "Reason for Reform" campaign launched by proponents of comprehensive immigration reform is trying to persuade Republican lawmakers to support an overhaul in 2017 with the argument that the U.S. economy would benefit, says Politico. The campaign, backed by a group led by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, underscores that "reform — should it occur next year — will be a fiercely contested legislative fight."
Democratic platform boosts family farms, stewardship, clean energy
At its presidential convention opening today, the Democratic Party will adopt a platform that vows to support family farms, "provide a focused safety net" and encourage development of clean fuels. "We believe that in order to be effective in keeping our air and water clean and combatting climate change, we must enlist farmers as partners in promoting conservation and stewardship," says the 55-page draft.
GOP: It’s ‘a mistake’ for USDA to run food-stamp program
The Agriculture Department has run the $74-billion-a-year food stamp program since it was created half a century ago — "a mistake," according to the platform approved by delegates at the Republican National Convention. The campaign document says Republicans "will ... separate the administration of [food stamps] from the Department of Agriculture."
Reports of three new human cases of bird flu include California child
Arizona health officials said two workers employed at poultry farms have recovered from mild cases of bird flu while the public health agency in Marin County, north of San Francisco, said it was investigating a possible bird flu infection of a child. If confirmed by the CDC, the U.S. total for bird flu infections would rise to 61 people in eight states this year.