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 had an immediate impact of workers not wanting to come to Georgia out of fear of being targeted for immigration.”

According to a study done by the University of Georgia, Minor reported that that spring harvest suffered a loss of nearly 40 percent in labor—a deficit that created a $390 million loss in economic activity across the state of Georgia.

The radio host wondered why Minor and farmers don’t try to encourage domestic labor by raising their wage rate.  Minor pointed out that the current perceptions of laborers getting paid a low wage rate is simply a “fallacy.”

Harvest crews in the field perform specialized and highly skilled work and are paid in most cases a piece rate.  “So people harvesting watermelons may not be able to pick peaches, and people picking blueberries may not be able to pick peppers,” He said. “You’ve got to be in really good physical shape. You’ve got to know the process of harvesting crops.”

The more proficient these crews become harvesting a particular crop, the higher their wages climb. This rate, according to Minor, can range from $15 to $20 an hour.

To listen to the full interview or read the transcript, click here.  For more information about legislation specific to the agriculture industry, visit our website, www.gfvga.org or call Charles Hall at 706-845-8200.

Committee review and debate will begin on Wednesday, April 25 at 9:00 AM. Listed below are some of the highlights of the Farm Bill proposal that affect our growers; however, there are several key elements yet to be reviewed and analyzed by the Alliance. We will keep you informed as more information is available to be shared.

ACTION ITEM – IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED

GFVGA asks you to make contact (via fax, email or call) with Senator Saxby Chambliss (GA), and other US Senators that serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and ask them to support the Specialty Crop provisions that have been included in the committee proposal. A sample letter is below the highlights.

Highlights of the released legislative language for the 2012 Farm Bill:

Block Grants:

• $70 million per year which expands the baseline by $15 million per year
• Base grants for all states goes up from $183,000 to $233,000
• The new distribution formula includes both value and acres for the remaining funding (approx $53 million).
• Multi-State grants are included with ramps up from $1 million in FY13 to $5 million FY17.

Pest and Disease:

• $60 million FY13-16 ($10 million increase)
• $65 million FY 17 (15 million increase)
• Combines Clean Plant Network with pest and disease, language clearly carves out under 10201.

Specialty Crop Research Initiative:

• $25 million FY13; $30 million FY14 and FY15; $65 million FY16 and $50 million for FY17 and establishes permanent baseline
• Have tied SCRI to requiring “consultation” with NAREE Specialty Crop Committee.
• A 10% waiver or matching waiver was not included

Trade:

• MAP fully funded $200 million
• TASC fully funded $9 million

Nutrition:

• Fully funds Fruit and Vegetable Fresh Snack program ($150 million per year)

SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR SENATOR

(Please reprint adding your personal information and put on your company or individual letterhead)

Dear Senator ___________________________ :

I live in ______city, state________ and __(include info on your farm/business -’ I grow ___ acres of product’ or ‘I supply seeds to our vegetable growers, etc’ I appreciate the support and leadership you have provided to our fruit and vegetable growers over the years.

Under your leadership (this is true with Chambliss – may not be with other senators -edit accordingly) our industry made significant progress in the 2008 Farm Bill on policy affecting specialty crops. The 2008 Farm Bill was a landmark in how the federal government addresses the crops that account for nearly half the total farm gate value in this country.

As you, and your other Senate Agriculture Committee colleagues, begin debate this week on the provisions of the 2012 Farm Bill, it is critical to maintain the historic specialty crop program achievements started in the 2008 Farm Bill. I am very pleased the preliminary 2012 language released by the Agriculture Committee late last week included increased funding for Block Grants, providing base line funding for the SCRI, increased funding for the pest and disease prevention agencies, such as APHIS and full funding of the fresh fruit and vegetable snack program. These programs are critical to helping maintain a competitive specialty crop industry.

Thank you again for all of your hard work and dedicated support of our specialty crop industry.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS

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 supplementing his advocacy for Georgia’s agriculture industry.

“With over a $68 billion dollar impact, agriculture is the leading industry in Georgia, employing one in seven Georgians.” He said. “Needless to say, Georgia has a vested interest in making sure our agricultural employers have the manpower necessary to effectively run their operations.”

Click here to WATCH Commissioner Black’s full testimony and the full hearing.

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 spotlight on the problems plaguing the H2A program and those who must rely on seasonal agricultural labor. The BARN Act overhauls this broken system and replaces overly-burdensome regulations with those that make it easier for farmers and ranchers to abide by the law. It was developed through grassroots interaction with those involved in the current system. If enacted, it will allow farmers to secure legal, qualified labor through an accountable system and to continue producing the safest, most abundant food supply in the world.

This hearing will be webcast live, and I encourage you to watch as Congress debates the problems caused by our broken guestworker programs and the solutions to bring relief to those who rely upon them.

Click here for the webcast link.

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 a bind, who now have to rely on an assistance program called H-2A.

The H-2A program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S.

Farmers say they want domestic labor, but most domestic workers aren’t prepared for the strenuous duties.

“If they are physically able to do it then we’re glad to hire them. We don’t mind hiring domestics. We like hiring domestics because it’s less money for us to bring people over from Mexico, but they have to be productive workers for us to hire them,” said Brim.

Brim and other farmers say they have been in contact with state lawmakers to improve the assistance program because if not the state will see a trickledown effect.

“Some are planting less crops and that affects a lot of people because now the John Deere dealership doesn’t sell as many tractors, the seed dealers don’t sell as many seeds, there’s less demand for fertilizer so when the farmer cuts back on the product they produce because they can’t find enough workers to harvest that, It affects everybody,” said the President of AgWorks H2 Dan Bremer

Farmers just want something to happen soon not only for the sake of their farm but the community as a whole.

Copyright 2012 WALB. All rights reserved.

 as reported by John McKiss

Click HERE for the entire report