Be careful what you wish for

The October 3, 2011 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart made light of a serious situation. In one of the segments, which can be found here, one of the show's "correspondents" interviewed a Georgia blackberry farmer whose blackberry crops were rotting because he simply didn't have enough laborers to pick them. The segment displayed the current struggle of Georgia farmers with a small dose of humor. But after I allowed myself a little chuckle at The Daily Show's silly antics, I couldn't help but agree with Jay Bookman, who astutely points out, "It might be funny if it wasn’t so sad."

According to the USDA Economic Reserve Service, Georgia has a rural population of 1,839,995 and an urban population of 7,847,658. In 2010, the rural unemployment rate in Georgia was 11.6% as compared to the 9.9% urban unemployment rate. The rural unemployment rate has increased significantly more in percentage than its metro counterparts. In fact, rural employment has declined during the past 3 years (-2.1 in 2007-2008, -5.3 in 2008-2009, and -3.5 in 2009-2010).

27.6% of Georgia land is classified as farmland, and agriculture accounts for a great deal of the state’s economy. Yet, despite the perpetually increasing unemployment rates, Georgia is experiencing a significant farming labor shortage. This phenomenon was highlighted by many news outlets at the beginning of the summer (samples can be seen here, here, and here) and has surfaced again this week. A significant factor contributing to the labor shortage was the passage of House Bill 87, a much harsher immigration law than was previously in place. The predicted effects (mainly migration away from Georgia) of HB 87 were felt even before its effective date on July 1, 2011. Subsequent studies from the Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Agribusiness Council confirmed Georgia farmers lost a large amount of their workforce.

A CBS Atlanta Report noted that as of June 2011, there were 11,000 vacancies in the farm industry. Despite the striking unemployment rate mentioned above, farmers, such as blackberry farmer Mike Paluska, are finding that people simply aren't replying to their job postings. In fact, Paluska said that his farm has "not had a single person come" in response to his ads. But the bleak truth is that these jobs are seasonal and pay poorly. In fact, fewer than 200 of those 11,000 open jobs pay at least $16 an hour and fewer than 900 provide benefits (only 7.7 percent offer health insurance, and barely a third are even covered by workers compensation).

Georgia's initial solution? Georgia Governor, Nathan Deal, promoted the creative policy solution that would utilize a substantial amount of probationers to do the work. In the words of economics professor, Alexander Tabarrok, these immigration laws have "turned good workers into criminals and turned criminals into bad workers, losing on both ends of the deal."

The Governor's solution was greeted with mixed reviews. To those who think anyone can pick a blackberry, this might sound like an appropriate solution. However, Paluska reminds us that farm labor is skilled labor. He states, "It's a joke. No disrespect to the governor. But, it is a skill...it's something that is very meticulous, and I am doubtful that [probationers] would be suitable labor for us." Charles Hall, Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) Executive Director, echoed this sentiment. He said, “Field harvest work is skilled labor. Anyone that has tried to pick blueberries, or cucumbers, or watermelons knows you have to have to have experience, plus be in top physical condition.”

In order to maintain quality control, farmers had to increase oversight in order to ensure the proper results. But when you've lost a significant amount of money (like the $200,000 Poluska anticipates losing by the end of the season), what choice do you have? Beggars can't be choosers, and in this case our hard working American farmers have been relegated to be the beggars. For some, the emergency probationer program came too late and others struggled with the programs inconsistent labor supply. Others, such as Colquitt County vegetable grower, Sam Watson, felt that the concept of using probationers was a “good idea” and provided much needed relief.

This week, the Georgia plight has reached Washington. The Moultrie observer reported that the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association is predicting that the shortage of workers this spring may have cost the state $140 million. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Blog broke that down into specific crop loss, finding a loss of $16 million in Vidalia onions and $29 million in blueberries all due to the ripple effect of HB 87. It further quoted a report, conducted by The University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development and authored by Dr. John McKissick and Sharon Kane (which will be released later this week), which notes that the $140 million accounts for only direct farming losses and fails to account for the ripple effect the farming economy has on the rest of the state. It states:

The shortage of labor, and dollar losses at the farm gate, also had a tremendous impact on the local communities and the entire state of Georgia. Hall reported that multi-county and state models of all the business and interactions of consumers and business was formulated by the researchers to estimate the impacts of the reported losses on the local communities and the state as a whole. Calculated on an annual basis, the Spring 2011 berry and vegetable production resulted in an additional $106.5 million dollar lost in other goods and services in Georgia’s economy putting the combined impact at about $181.5 million dollars. Assuming the grower responses in the study are representative of all growers for the seven crops analyzed, the total yearly economic impact would be approximately $391 million dollars and the job loss would be about 3,260 on a statewide basis. The shortage of labor, and dollar losses at the farm gate, also had a tremendous impact on the local communities and the entire state of Georgia. Hall reported that multi-county and state models of all the business and interactions of consumers and business was formulated by the researchers to estimate the impacts of the reported losses on the local communities and the state as a whole. Calculated on an annual basis, the Spring 2011 berry and vegetable production resulted in an additional $106.5 million dollar lost in other goods and services in Georgia’s economy putting the combined impact at about $181.5 million dollars. Assuming the grower responses in the study are representative of all growers for the seven crops analyzed, the total yearly economic impact would be approximately $391 million dollars and the job loss would be about 3,260 on a statewide basis.

It is no wonder that farmers support immigration reform. All across the nation, farmers are suffering because of our persistent desire to drive out undocumented workers. The following is a list of just some geographic areas that face farm labor shortage concerns:

• In Alabama, they are worried about their sweet potatoes. The sweet potato farmers fear is well-founded, as Alabama towns hit by April’s tornado found themselves struggling to rebuild their cities, because many of its immigrant concrete pourers, framers, roofers, and other construction laborers were leaving town.
• In California, the farmers are worried about their grape and raisin harvests. Some vineyards have gone so far as replace grape harvesting jobs with machines . (Interestingly, Roy Beck, the executive director of Numbers USA, a nonprofit that supports lower immigration levels, suggested to farmers that a solution may be to resort to mechanization of harvesting.)
• In Colorado, they are worried about onions and corn. While they try to rely more heavily on local labor, it simply neither enough nor sustainable.
• The Northeast's dairy farms share the same concern.
• Arizona's harsh immigration laws are currently contributing to their farm labor shortage.

It is clear that immigration reform is needed in order to accommodate both the quantity of workers wanting to work in the United States and the amount of work that needs to be done. But what about the large amount of unemployed US citizens? Farm work is undeniably hard. It takes a great deal of psychical strength and probably a great deal of mental stamina. But why won't any of our unemployed do these jobs? What is it about farm work that is so "beneath" the average American citizen? As a country, we once valued and admired the traits that made a good and productive farmer. In fact, we still value these traits: hard honest work, perseverance, and doing what it takes to provide for your family. We just don't link those traits with farming anymore. Farmers, much like American teachers, are not getting paid enough, and (possibly more importantly) they are not getting the respect they deserve for what they provide for our country. I can't help but feel stymied at how to once again elevate these positions to where they belong. I can't believe it is simply a matter of more money and benefits.