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

Economic Impact Report FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 10-4-2011 For more information contact Charles Hall chall@asginfo.net The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) released today preliminary findings from the economic impact study which the organization commissioned to analyze production data from the spring and summer harvest. Charles Hall, GFVGA Executive Director presented the preliminary data at the 2011 United Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Public Policy Conference where produce industry leaders from across the nation are assembled to lobby for reasonable immigration reform and discuss national E-verify legislation. Hall said, “Georgia is the poster child for what can happen when mandatory

2011 Spring/Summer Harvest Survey Click here to complete the survey  The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, in cooperation with a number of other agricultural organizations, is asking for your assistance to provide crop production data related to your 2011 spring/ summer harvest. GFVGA has commissioned the University of Georgia - Center for Agribusiness Development to study the data we collect and analyze the economic impact of the 2011 spring/summer harvest on our farms and rural communities. In addition, the study will estimate the economic impact on state and local tax revenues from the purchase of goods and services during

Marketplace, Thursday, June 16, 2011 In response to the state's new strict immigration law, and the shortage of farmers that followed, Georgia governor Nathan Deal has proposed allowing probationers to fill the void on farms. Peaches. (Adriene Hill/Marketplace) Kai Ryssdal: The state of Georgia's got a tough new immigration law about to go into effect. It's making life harder for farmers in the Peach State. A survey not too long ago found they're short about 11,000 workers, jobs most commonly filled by immigrants, both legal and not. The news has brought an interesting proposal from Georgia governor Nathan Deal. How

  Click HERE for VIDEO and original article LESLIE, Ga.-- "It's a little heated out here," said Jaquis Jones as he stood in a dusty Sumter County field. For most of the men here, this was a first. They'd never before worked in an agricultural field - never even considered it until Tuesday. "This is the hardest work I've ever done," said Maurice Evans, a first-timer. Nineteen men started work here at dawn, a majority of them, probationers from the state Department of Corrections. By lunchtime, eight had quit. They get paid fifty cents per bucket of cucumbers -or at