The Fruit Growers News

Labor issues are hindering the growth of agriculture in Florida. “There is not a doubt that labor problems are the most adverse thing that a grower has to deal with on his operation,” said Kevin Morgan. Morgan, Florida Farm Bureau’s (FFB) labor policy representative, gets calls from growers every day expressing concern about their labor situation. Problems can range from growers having trouble finding help to making sure that they don’t lose the farm in liability to one disgruntled worker. “Labor is the main problem,” said Morgan. “If it were easier, you would see some growth in ag.” In some instances, growers have started changing their operations to avoid hiring help. Morgan said that some have stopped raising anything that requires hand picking. For these reason’s FFB is encouraging responsible changes in the immigration policies - changes that would allow growers to access ready and willing Mexican workers. At the height of their winter harvest season, Florida makes use of 300,000 migrant workers. Despite that great demand, Morgan reports that the state has very few growers using the H2A. “A lot of our farmers are one harvest away from having their business go under,” said Morgan. That sense of urgency in the industry calls for reliable resources. “Right now, H2A procedures are unfriendly toward agriculture.” “Our growers can’t seem to use the program in a timely fashion,” said Morgan. “We would like to see reforms on the current program that would allow growers to bring in workers when there is a need and not have to jump through so many hoops.” Growers across the country are facing the same problem with H2A. “The biggest issue for those who have H2A workers is the processing times that have gotten extended past what used to be normal bureaucracy,” said Paul Geisterfer, Agricultural Data Systems. “Everything is being looked at much closer since the terrorist attack.” The national identification card issue that has been bandied about has brought into focus the potential impact of changes in the availability of documented and undocumented workers. Geisterfer based his assessment on comments from clients of the ag labor software company in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Beyond delays in H2A processing, the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center has subtly changed the migrant labor scene. Morgan said his organization has heard that it has become extremely hard for undocumented workers to get a driver’s license. Applicants now have to have a birth certificate to obtain a license, which has lowered the amount of documented workers but has not created major shortages. In the future, FFB can see the government acting as a labor broker. The organization would also like to see changes to ag labor policies that account for modern agriculture. For example, Florida’s biggest ag industry, the nursery industry, offers more full-time positions than traditional agriculture. The employees work 52 weeks of the year and those workers don’t migrate, but they are still classified as seasonal workers because they produce seasonal crops. Despite the challenges, some things have helped the Florida farmer in the past few years. The emergence of ag employment services that manage labor concerns such as payroll, and help with training has helped. While the companies are not cheap, they offer an efficient way for farmers to get labor, Morgan said. Other advances in technology have made it easier for growers to track their picking labor. By equipping harvest teams with field recording devices the industry has provided a computerized tracking system of harvest. The amount of hired workers on U.S. farms is staggering. A recent USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service survey reported that there were 1.08 million hired workers on the nation’s farms and ranches during the week of April 7-13, up 6% from a year ago. According to the May 17 report, the wage rates were also up 6% from a year ago. There were 890,000 workers hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 189,000 workers. Migrant workers accounted for 8.8% of the April hired work force compared with 8.9% in April 2001. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage rate of $8.83 per hour during the April 2002 survey week, up 52 cents from a year earlier. “We’ve got people that want to work and they want the right to work legally, said Morgan. “We’ve got to figure out how to get them here and allow them to work in a reliable manner.”