farmworkers
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."
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.
America’s biggest produce leaders vow to help farmworkers
The nation’s largest produce industry groups have pledged to work together to improve farm labor conditions, in what could be the most significant step in the movement yet, says the Los Angeles Times. The Produce Marketing Association and the United Fresh Produce Association, which together represent thousands of retailers, growers and distributors, say they are considering an audit-based approach to improving working conditions, similar to that used by the apparel and electronics industries.
Conaway endorses Trump, offers aid on farm policy
House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway endorsed Donald Trump for president, reports the website yourbasin.com in Conaway's district in Texas. The website quoted Conaway as saying, "As chairman of the House agricultural committee I feel like I have a duty to try and work with Mr. Trump in developing his agricultural policy which so far as not been particularly vetted in any of the debates."
The farmhand of the future is a robot in Japan
In conjunction with the meeting of G-7 farm ministers, Japan's agriculture minister Hiroshi Moriyama discussed his idea "of replacing retiring growers with Japanese-developed autonomous tractors and backpack-carried robots," said Bloomberg.
Visa paperwork snarls delay of seasonal farmworkers, threatening harvests
Farmers reported labor shortages in more than 20 states, threatening harvests, due to delays in federal approval for seasonal workers from foreign countries, said the largest U.S. farm group.
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.
California farmworkers face high rates of food insecurity, obesity
Nearly half of the farm workers in Yolo County, California, face food insecurity, three times the rate of farm workers in the rest of California and in the United States, says a new report out by the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS).
Cruz says: mechanization, higher pay will offset loss of illegal farmworkers
Farmers will have to pay higher wages to farmworkers and rely more on mechanization to carry out agricultural tasks when illegal immigration is ended, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told a Wisconsin dairy 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.
Sanders says immigration reform will be a top priority
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said "passing a legislative solution to our broken immigration system will be a top priority" if he becomes president.
Farmworkers struggle in California drought
"As California’s water crisis looms over the agricultural industry, conversations have focused on the threat to big growers while often overlooking the devastating potential impact to the laborers and small migrant communities," writes Carolina Wilson at Peninsula Press, a Stanford Journalism project.
Ryan says no to comprehensive immigration reform
Newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan ruled out working with President Obama on comprehensive immigration reform, saying Obama cannot be trusted on the issue, said Reuters.
The Filipino origins of the 1965 grape strike
Half a century after the 1965 grape strike, Cesar Chavez is the most familiar face of the farmworker movement, says KQED in a story by Lisa Morehouse that calls attention to the pivotal role of Filipino-Americans, led by Larry Itliong, who actually started the strike in Delano, in the Central Valley.
Two-thirds of Americans support path to citizenship
Two of three Americans "favor a plan to allow immigrants who are living illegally in the U.S. to remain in the country and become citizens if they meet certain requirements over time," says Gallup.
A sticky proposal to give Colorado sheepherders a pay raise
The sheep industry in Colorado girded for "a storm" after the Labor Department proposed tripling the minimum pay for the sheepherders who spent weeks at a time on the range, say KUNC-FM and Rocky Mountain PBS.
Looking for a mechanical hired hand for chile harvest
With plantings on the decline and fewer farmworkers available, two mechanical harvesters are being tested on the chile pepper crop in New Mexico, says the Associated Press.
U.S. grocer is first major chain to join Fair Food Program
Ahold USA, the parent company of grocery chains that include Giant and Stop and Shop, joined the Fair Food Program of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The program's goal is to improve the conditions for farmworkers in Florida.
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.