Posted on 06/23/2019 9:36:03 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
New York farmers say they are straining under increased costs as a worker shortage has forced them to use a federal visa program to bring in temporary agricultural workers from other countries.
While farmers are grateful for the H-2A visas, which lets them import workers, some say their costs have ballooned while their revenue is mostly stagnant.
“For us, there is no non-H-2A labor,” said Dennis Brawdy, partner with Amos Zittel and Sons in Erie County, which employs 72 workers this year. “Three to five years ago, we were 100% non-H-2A because there was an adequate amount of workers around,” Mr. Brawdy said of the vegetable-growing and greenhouse operation.
As the U.S. has tightened border security in recent years, many agricultural companies that had relied on illegal immigrant laborers are turning to H-2A visas. More than 196,000 H-2A visas were granted in 2018, compared to about 89,200 in 2014, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
This could be a good thing. Decrease the supply of cheap labor, impose tariffs on imported produce, and the pressure to develop robotic agriculture increases.
I didn’t realize farming was still allowed in NY, I thought that they had re-zoned all agricultural land to recreational to increase tax revenue during the 1980’s Great Stumble Forward.
Sorry but I thought they were shipped a fresh load of hepatitis infected 3rd world refugees? Are the farmers saying that the new illegals won’t do the jobs the old illegals did, and Americans still don’t?
“and the pressure to develop robotic agriculture increases.”
Natural economics of market pressures. Perfectly valid.
They all rely on illegals, in one form or another. Congress and the BB are complicit.
They usually have 5-12 family kids and neighbors who labor for free, violating Child Labor Laws in the process.
Purchasing the robotic machinery and keeping it all running will bankrupt the mom & pop farms.
Most of the farm workers, over 70% are Americans. It is these farmers and probably corporate farmers that want the cheap labor and do not want to hire Americans.
BB = BBB (Better Business Bureau)
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