[Mb-civic] CBC News - U.S. FARMERS WORRIED AS MIGRANT WORKERS SEEK GREENER PASTURES

Mon Oct 31 12:03:15 PST 2005

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U.S. FARMERS WORRIED AS MIGRANT WORKERS SEEK GREENER PASTURES
WebPosted Mon Oct 31 06:32:39 2005

---A critical shortage of farm workers in the southwestern United States
is threatening the harvest of fruits and vegetables, a problem that could
lead to higher prices in Canada this winter.

In California's San Joaquin Valley, a quarter of the olive crop is
rotting on the trees.

"There's a lot of fruit on these trees just waiting to come off," Adin
Hester, president of the Olive Growers Council, told CBC News during a
tour of one farm.

"The fruit's a nice size and big, but look &#8211; it's all black."

That makes it perfect for eating, but too late for picking and shipping
out to buyers.

Last week, grower Johnny Jamieson had a 65-person crew working in his
olive grove. Two days later, only 12 of the migrant workers from Mexico
showed up.

"I heard they're in construction, and they've shut down the borders
pretty hard," he said. "So I don't know where they are. I heard some guys
are going to Louisiana."

Hammering nails in hurricane-damaged New Orleans or in California's
booming housing industry pays at least twice the wages that workers
receive on farms. With so many builders crying for labour, nobody's
asking to see the immigration papers of job applicants.

"They're getting $15, $18 an hour for pounding nails, nice benefits, and
if the housing industry keeps going like it is, they'll have year-round
jobs," said Hester.

"They got the farmers in a bad spot," said Jamieson. "Right now, I don't
know. We're going to be down to the wire."

With large parts of crops going unpicked, supplies will be lower than
expected this year. That could lead to shortages, and thus higher prices.

Unlike Canada, the U.S. has not had a "guest worker" program to help
bring the crops in since the 1960s. Congress and the White House are
working on a plan, but even if they get one now, it will come too late
for this year's harvest.