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Fewer immigrant laborers would mean fewer farms
Country Today ^ | 6-15-2009 | Sara Bredesen

Posted on 06/15/2009 3:57:29 PM PDT by SJackson

Losing immigrant workers would mean losing farms, cows and milk, according to a survey on the effects of foreign-born labor on dairy farms that was released June 4 by the National Milk Producers Federation.

The estimated effect of a 50 percent loss of the immigrant workforce on America's dairy farms would mean about 2,266 farms would go out of business, cow numbers would drop by more than 670,000 nationwide and milk production would drop by 14.7 billion pounds, the survey said.

"We estimated that with a 50 percent loss in immigrant labor, we would expect to see an increase in milk prices at retail of just about 31 percent," said Parr Rosson, co-author of the survey conducted by the AgriLife Research Center at Texas AandM University.

The research team contacted 5,005 dairy farms across the country and received 2,071 responses from 47 states. Half the farms employed at least one immigrant worker.

An estimated 41.4 percent of all dairy workers in the United States are foreign-born, with nearly 98 percent of those originating from Mexico.

About 62 percent of the country's milk supply comes from farms using immigrant labor, researchers estimated.

"It's not a secret that from farm to fork, foreign workers are crucial to feeding America," said Jerry Kozak, National Milk Producers Federation president and chief executive officer.

The study was a way to quantify information that until now has been anecdotal, he said.

"I think we view the survey as verifying what we already thought and what producers had been telling us," Kozak said.

The study extrapolated effects based on hypothetical immigrant-labor losses of 50 percent and 100 percent.

A 100 percent loss of immigrant labor would reduce the national herd size by an estimated 1.34 million cows, decrease farm numbers by 4,532 and reduce milk production by about 29.5 million pounds.

The average 2008 herd size in the study group was 1,344 cows, but Kozak said losses of immigrant workers would affect farms of all sizes. He used as an example a Minnesota farmer who milks 150 cows with two immigrant laborers.

"What he told me in a recent conversation was that if he loses one or both of the two laborers - he doesn't have children to work the farm - that he'd have to sell his farm," Kozak said.

It's important that agriculture-related jobs legislation be passed soon because of its significant effect on the economy, he said.

The study looked at job losses in agricultural fields and estimated that a 50 percent reduction in the immigrant workforce would result in a $11.2 billion loss to the economy. More than $6 billion of that would be losses to farmers, but about $3 billion would be lost sales for dairy-support businesses such as feed, fuel, transportation and other service providers.

Labor shortages already are being seen on dairy farms, Rosson said.

Over the past three years, about 20 percent of the farms had experienced labor shortages of, on average, 26 percent. In 2009, 18.7 percent of the dairy farms are anticipating a labor shortage of about 20.2 percent.

The domestic labor force since World War II has been trained to work in an information and technology economy, Rosson said.

"What that has resulted in is a labor gap, and most of our high school graduates in this country don't want to work on the farm," he said.

The study is intended to provide information for policymaking, Kozak said.

"We need help on America's dairies, and we need labor policy to reflect the realities of today's economy," he said.

"Although we don't have specific numbers now, it's clear that the increased enforcement activity in the last two years has created a significant anxiety at the farm level and on our labor force," Kozak said.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: agriculture; dairy; farming; illegals; migrantfarmers; migrants; migrantworkers
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1 posted on 06/15/2009 3:57:29 PM PDT by SJackson
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To: SJackson

Fewer immigrant laborers will mean increased mechanization, which would have happened anyway, but much sooner, except for the “cheap” labor.


2 posted on 06/15/2009 4:00:20 PM PDT by La Lydia (.)
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To: SJackson

Stop welfare.
Close the borders and Americans will take these jobs when they get hungry.
Course with this cradle to grave liberal democrat b.s. that will never happen.


3 posted on 06/15/2009 4:00:45 PM PDT by Joe Boucher
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To: Iowa Granny; Ladysmith; Diana in Wisconsin; JLO; sergeantdave; damncat; phantomworker; joesnuffy; ..
If you’d like to be on or off this Upper Midwest/outdoors/rural list please FR mail me. And ping me is you see articles of interest.

The complete survey is at http://www.nmpf.org/files/file/NMPF%20Immigration%20Survey%20Web.pdf

Given the fact that producers completed the survey, and with a $31,000 plus average income I have to assume we're talking legal immigrants here, though the report doesn't clarify that. Nor does the report suggest that there will be a decrease in the availability of workers. Agricultural visas being unlimited where there is a need, I'd assume that fewer illegals would mean a larger pool of potential workers to be recruited, not less. If there are fewer, the obvious solution, raise wages, that's how free markets work. There are a couple unemployed Americans out there. The survey doesn't make policy recomendations, so maybe there are no conclusions to be drawn.

If they're talking illegal workers, they should be deported and their employers charged.

4 posted on 06/15/2009 4:01:58 PM PDT by SJackson (G-d da*n America, Jeremiah Wright---Don't tell me words don't matter!, Barack Hussein Obama)
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To: Joe Boucher

Right, note my post 4. Or pay more, it’s nice to see an industry that needs workers. Other than government.


5 posted on 06/15/2009 4:03:05 PM PDT by SJackson (G-d da*n America, Jeremiah Wright---Don't tell me words don't matter!, Barack Hussein Obama)
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To: SJackson

9.4% of out of work Americans would pick up an abandoned illegal immigrant shovel or a rake if the gub’mint wasn’t keeping them on the taxpayer funded unemployment dole.


6 posted on 06/15/2009 4:05:03 PM PDT by TADSLOS
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To: TADSLOS

Meant to say: 9.4% of Americans out of work...


7 posted on 06/15/2009 4:07:11 PM PDT by TADSLOS
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To: SJackson

No, 0 will be the one to eliminate farms.


8 posted on 06/15/2009 4:10:03 PM PDT by TribalPrincess2U (The plan... 0 in power for life. At least that's what they told him.)
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To: TADSLOS

That’s true. Of course BHO’s solution would be to nationalize the dairy farms, then let the taxpayers give them a rake.


9 posted on 06/15/2009 4:10:49 PM PDT by SJackson (G-d da*n America, Jeremiah Wright---Don't tell me words don't matter!, Barack Hussein Obama)
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To: SJackson

There are 2 dairy farms in my area that don’t use immigrant labor. They’re small farms. The 3rd small farm that had an Obama sign had mexicans everywhere. They put up the Obama signs.


10 posted on 06/15/2009 4:11:03 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you. Ben Franklin)
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To: SJackson

I have little problem with LEGAL immigration.
BUT I live about 15 miles north of Indiantown, Florida.
Population is about half illegal and since they work the very large and politically connected sugar fields, i.c.e. stays away.
Fanjul family has the law in their pockets.


11 posted on 06/15/2009 4:12:55 PM PDT by Joe Boucher
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To: SJackson

Losing immigrant workers would mean losing farms, cows and milk, according

Can you say cow shit......


12 posted on 06/15/2009 4:13:41 PM PDT by SECURE AMERICA (Coming to You From the Front Lines of Occupied America)
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To: SJackson
"It's not a secret that from farm to fork, foreign workers are crucial to feeding America," said Jerry Kozak, National Milk Producers Federation president and chief executive officer.

Then get legal foreign workers, Jerry.

13 posted on 06/15/2009 4:19:39 PM PDT by Toddsterpatriot (Math is hard. Harder if you're stupid.)
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To: Joe Boucher

“Fanjul family has the law in their pockets.”

That’s only because their safety deposit box is stuffed full of Senators!


14 posted on 06/15/2009 4:22:33 PM PDT by headsonpikes (Genocide is the highest sacrament of socialism.)
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To: SJackson

No barf alert on this POS article? Totally bogus. We are going to have fewer farms but it won’t be because of running out the illegals!


15 posted on 06/15/2009 4:22:33 PM PDT by calex59
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To: calex59

There was a thread the other day about the oversupply of milk and the overcapacity of dairy farms. So maybe fewer dairies is an OK thing.


16 posted on 06/15/2009 4:31:35 PM PDT by Sicvee (Sicvee)
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To: SJackson

Apparently we will starve to death without the invaders. We must be the most pathetic and sorry people to ever live.


17 posted on 06/15/2009 4:31:37 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
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To: SJackson

Tough job, dairy farming.

5 AM, everyday, Christmas, New Years, the 4th of July.

5 PM, everyday, Christmas, New Years, the 4th of July.

Soon it becomes EVERY DAMN DAY!


18 posted on 06/15/2009 4:56:55 PM PDT by Balding_Eagle (Overproduction, one of the top five worries for the American farmer.)
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To: SJackson

A lot of the dairy products are now going to Asia, and that market will be drying up with this rotten economy. Bottom line if they produce less milk, the price goes up, and they can afford to hire people at a decent wage, (wages American can afford to live on) and more will go into making milk again, bringing the price down somewhat.
In the end, the market will work it out.


19 posted on 06/15/2009 5:44:29 PM PDT by Colvin (Harry Reid is a sap sucking idiot.)
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To: headsonpikes

Money sometimes does that.

Where abouts in Canada are you?
And not meaning any disrespect, but, Why GOD save the Queen?


20 posted on 06/16/2009 2:52:23 AM PDT by Joe Boucher
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