Politics

[CoElkHunter]

If the minimum wage in Mexico is 1 dollar an hour, and they're making 16x that (or more) working on a sod farm, it would be like me being able to go somewhere and make $116 an hour (7.25 x 16). Without overtime that comes out to about 240k a year. You show me the place I can go and make 240k a year as a laborer on a sod farm and I'm probably packing a bag tonight.

Qatar, UAE or Saudi Arabia? LOL

 

[Corey0372]

Qatar, UAE or Saudi Arabia? LOL

They probably got Bangladeshi's doing it for less than we pay the Mexicans!

 

[Scott CWO]

I've been around AG my entire life as well; former FFA district president, degree in agriculture, own a farm and besides owning my own business I am also a University employee tasked with answering agriculture issues for producers.

You are correct about American city kids - These days it seems that most of them are only children who have had parents helicopter over them so they live a consequence and sweat free existence; while oddly enough paying money to workout in a gym.

As for the "They pick our lettuce" argument.......

1. Less than 1% of all illegal immigrants are involved in agriculture work, but 44% of farm laborers are illegal immigrants - Very Telling.

2. Mechanization is changing agriculture FAST - When is the last time you heard of a human being harvesting sugarcane in the USA? The Florida Crystals Corporation imported THOUSANDS of Haitians into south Florida to harvest sugarcane and when they got replaced by machines the workers were allowed to stay.

3. Means and methods - farming succulents(especially lettuce) is being moved to hydroponic cultivation and it truly is a superior product that is much more efficient, better for the environment, lowers transportation cost/loss and is much less labor intensive. - So in 10 years we are going to be needing much less farm labor than we do now.

4. Exploitation - Every farmer/rancher I've ever met loves to moan about how they don't make any money, but I know some that make FORTUNES; oddly enough the greater the wealth of farmers the more willing they are to turn a blind eye to exploitation and especially so when it comes to labor contractors who are generally the anchor babies of 1st generation illegals and these labor contractors are the modern slave drivers and YES physical violence is still very much used as a motivation...... I've seen these people first hand in agriculture and excavation, they make their money on human suffering and I wish the federal government would step into dealing with this human tracking.

What's the answer? A organized farm labor union just like Cesar Chavez wanted, but he could never get it because employers would rather exploit desperate illegals than deal with a legal organized workforce.

These programs already exist - Such as the program for South American sheep herders that are allowed to come and work in the USA and are the ones responsible for maintaining flocks of sheep on the vast ranches and leases in the western U.S.A.

Off subject a bit but one of our ranchers brought in 700 goats and a Peruvian herder on a ranch where we hunt deer. With the goats and herder constantly bumping the deer out of bedding areas, the hunting plummeted because the deer left the ranch. Luckily the Peruvian wanted to leave after three months and I had to double the lease payment to get the rancher to get rid of the goats. What a mess!