NPR Interviews GFVGA President Dick Minor about Consequences of State Immigration Laws GFVGA President Dick Minor interviewed with National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program Monday, April 30 about the intended and unintended effects of state immigration laws. Interviewer Neal Conan began the program asking Minor about what had been happening in the agriculture industry since Georgia’s immigration law took effect in July 2011. Minor noted that the effects of that legislation began as early mid-April 2011 when Georgia’s session came to a close.  “There was quite a bit of stir about it on the media,” he said. “It

Click here to READ Commissioner Gary Black's full testimony at the hearing. At 10:00am on Thursday, February 9, 2012, the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement held a hearing on "Regional Perspectives on Agricultural Guestworker Programs." The hearing focused on proposals to reform the H2A program including Congressman Kingston's H2A reform bill, H.R. 3443, the Better Agriculture Resources Now (BARN) Act. Among the agriculture industry representatives giving testimony to the necessity of a new bill was Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. The commissioner opened briefly, thanking the committee for their time and attention. After which, Black wasted no time in

H2A Hearing Webcast Announced At 10:00am on Thursday, February 9, 2012, the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing on "Regional Perspectives on Agricultural Guestworker Programs." The hearing will focus on proposals to reform the H2A program including Congressman Kingston's H2A reform bill, H.R. 3443, the Better Agriculture Resources Now (BARN) Act. Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black will present testimony at the hearing regarding immigration issues in Georgia. He will also submit information on the report he presented to the Governor and the Georgia legislature in January. Congressman Kingston fought hard to get this hearing and shine a

Click here for the video segment of the story. Tifton, GA - Some South Georgia farmers are having a tough time finding local and migrant workers, which some blame on the new immigration law. "It's been a tremendous drop in the amount of workers we have state of Georgia. We've also had a $140 million dollar loss last year because of the loss of workers," said farmer Bill Brim. Under the new law, employers with 500 or more employees will have to use a federal database called E-Verify to check the employment eligibility. That puts farmers like Brim in

An Evaluation of Direct and Indirect Economic Losses Incurred by Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Producers in Spring 2011  as reported by John McKiss Click HERE for the entire report