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Florida Farm Bureau members march on Capitol for immigration reform

Sun-Herald – May 18, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 80 Florida Farm Bureau (FFB) members on May 13 marched up Capitol Hill and laid their farm labor woes at Congress’ steps.

Carrying a sign that said, “Don’t Tie Our Hands,” and with hands bound with green yarn to symbolize how current immigration law and temporary worker programs hinder agricultural production, the Florida farmers said comprehensive immigration reform is the only real solution to their labor problems.

Comprehensive reform usually refers to legislation that creates legal avenues for people to enter the United States, enables those who are already here to earn legal status and improves security at the U.S. borders. For agriculture, it also includes an improved agricultural guest worker program.

Congress has not acted on immigration reform in more than two decades, and reform is long overdue, the FFB members said. They called for Congress to pass comprehensive reform this year.

After the demonstration, they fanned out for meetings with members of Congress on immigration and other issues. Farm Bureau members had made appointments to meet with Florida members of Congress or their staff liaisons as part of the group’s annual “Field to the Hill” visit.

“We are here in the nation’s capital to say that Congress must take action or else our hands as the nation’s food producers are tied,” said John L. Hoblick, FFB president. “If farmers don’t have a system for hiring the labor we need, when we need it, at a fair market wage for the type of work that these workers do, then we may lose fruit and vegetable production in Florida and the U.S.”

Many of Florida’s most profitable crops include fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and nursery products, products that need to be hand harvested. But finding U.S. workers who are willing to do the work is harder than ever, and many farmers turn to workers from across the border to meet their labor needs.

That has presented several problems, from not being able to verify the workers’ legal immigration status, to not getting temporary workers when they are needed, to federal wage requirements that are out of whack with typical agricultural wages.

The American Farm Bureau Federation says billions of dollars worth of U.S. agricultural production, mostly in fresh fruits and vegetables, are at stake if Congress does not pass comprehensive immigration reform and provide an effective agricultural guest worker program.

“That means job losses, not only in agriculture but also in other industries that are connected with agriculture,” said Hoblick. “Congress must address this economic issue.”

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general-interest agricultural association with about 140,000 member-families statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, the Federation is an independent, nonprofit agricultural organization. More information about Florida Farm Bureau is available on the organization’s Web site, http://FloridaFarmBureau.org.

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