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Proposed regulations may mean more costs for farms and consumers

Bay News 9 – April 9, 2011

The price you pay for food could be growing faster than crops in the field if something isn’t done, according to local farmers.

They say new regulations could cost the state billions of dollars.

Because of the concern, nearly two dozen people gathered Saturday at Mixon Farms in Bradenton, and met with state representatives and other officials.

One item of concern is E-Verification, which is a proposed system requiring farmers to verify the immigration status of each farm worker.

Fritz Stauffacher believes it could making finding affordable labor almost impossible.

“If you don’t get the labor, then the crops fail,” he said. “That’s a huge industry in Florida, that means the price of food would go up drastically.”

He estimates food prices could double, or even triple.

He added that the country would be forced to become more reliable on foreign food, much like the country is now with oil.

“If you do that with agriculture, remember, you can stop driving a car, slow it down for a week or two, try not to eat for three or four days,” Stauffacher said.

Farmers simply don’t want the regulations passed that may make it impossible for them to continue to run their business.

“A lot of regulation has to do with good ideas, like keeping the consumers safe,” said Ben King of King Family Farm. “That’s all fine and good and warm and fuzzy, and that always needs to happen, but it doesn’t mean that the government needs to take the reigns.”

State representative Greg Steube is among a group of lawmakers trying to do what they can to keep farmers going strong.

“As a state, we wanna do everything we can to support them,” said Steube. “Everything we can do to lower regulations and lower costs for the small business and the farmers and ranchers out there to make them successful, and then make Florida successful.”

The farmers hope the increased regulations won’t limit that success.

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