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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
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The study found that even a sudden transition to an all-legal, non- guest-worker farm work force would be a non-event for consumers. Price increases would be small and short-lived — less than the seasonal fluctuations that occur naturally.
Specifically, price increases would depend on the season, according to the study's authors, economists Wallace Huffman and Alan McCunn of Iowa State University. During the summer and fall, when most fresh fruit and vegetables in the stores are domestically grown, prices would be about 6 percent higher for the first one or two years, and after that transitional period would level off about 3 percent higher than what they would have been.
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I am now seeing 20% and 50% price increases from same period one year ago.
From MS-NBC of 4 Sept 2006:
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Immigration crackdown impacts farmers
Half the crop won't be harvested, Dobbins says, because about half of the migrant farm workers he expected this year — didn't come. ...
The shortage of farm labor is everywhere.
"We can't find Americans to do these jobs," says Bill Moncovich, who co-owns California Berry Farm. "We've tried. No one will listen."
And in Florida, tens of millions of dollars' worth of oranges are still on the trees. They'll fall, and shrivel.
"I have never known where we left fruit on the trees, never!" says Steve Sorrells, who owns a packing company. "And I've been in it since 1972." ...
If the borders are closed and we don't have labor, we're out of business," says Bill Moncovich.
This year, only 29,000 foreign farm workers were granted visas. But there are an estimated 1.5 million illegal farm workers here now.
That's still not enough, farmers say, to get all the fruit off the trees in time.
"We need them more than we need the tractors," says Moncovich.
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1500 thousand immigrant laborers are not enough. Government believes 29 thousand are sufficient. Clearly 1471 thousand workers are not necessary. After all, immigration laws based in politcal agendas could not be wrong. We don't need these immigrants. Farmers must be wrong when complaining about 20% less workers and a corresponding decrease in crop yields.
09-15-2006, 04:14 AM
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