Myrtle Beach Sun News Logo

Central California growers struggle with farmworker shortage | Myrtle Beach Sun News

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Subscribe
    • Activate Your Account
    • Account Support
    • Mobile Apps
    • Newsletters
    • The Sun News Store
    • FAQ
    • Cancel SunValues Delivery
    • Plan
    • All Tourist Info
    • Vacation Planner
    • Calendar
    • Where to Stay
    • Ask a Local
    • Festivals Guide
    • Best of the Area
    • Play
    • Nightlife
    • Golf
    • Shopping
    • Shows
    • Myrtle Beach Blog
    • Restaurants

  • Obituaries
    • All News
    • Local News
    • Crime/Courts
    • Business
    • State News
    • Nation/World
    • Weird News
    • More News
    • Politics
    • Myrtle Beach Bike Rallies
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Tourism News
    • Real Estate News
    • All Sports
    • High Schools
    • Coastal Carolina
    • Recreation
    • Golf
    • MB Pelicans
    • Auto Racing
    • More Sports
    • College Sports
    • NFL
    • MLB
    • MB Marathon
    • Toast Of The Coast
    • Green Reading Blog
    • The Roost Blog
    • All Opinion
    • Letters To The Editor
    • Submit A Letter
    • Editorial
    • Cartoons
    • Columns & Blogs
    • Bob Bestler
    • All Living
    • Coasting
    • Neighbors
    • Food
    • Best Of The Beach
    • Announcements
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Home & Garden
    • All Entertainment
    • Kicks!
    • Best Of The Beach
    • Movies
    • Calendar
    • Contests
    • More Entertainment
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Celebrities
    • Music
    • TV

  • Legals
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Classified Ads

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

Latest News

Central California growers struggle with farmworker shortage

Darrell Smith - Modesto Bee

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 11, 2012 01:29 PM

Kevin Steward has spent more than a quarter-century in agriculture, much of that growing grapes for wineries. He's always been able to rely on seasonal workers to tend the vines and bring in the year's harvest.

But this year, workers are harder to come by.

"I could use 30 men," Steward said. "We'll get 'er done, but I can't find anybody."

Growers around the Central Valley are wringing their hands as they struggle to find the manpower they need, though the situation appears better in Stanislaus County.

SIGN UP

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sun News

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Anti-immigration laws and policies, an aging population and even a raging drug war south of the border are contributing to a slowdown in the pipeline of Mexican workers.

Steward, president of the Sacramento County Farm Bureau, said he has only a fraction of the 40 workers he depends on to tend the 1,000 acres of vineyards he manages in Amador and San Joaquin counties.

"I've never seen it this bad," he said, though he's heard there are "a lot of good workers who are busy picking cherries." But cherry growers say their labor situation is only marginally better.

Laborers available to harvest San Joaquin County's lucrative cherry crop are down as much as 30 percent, according to the county's farm bureau.Situation OK in Stanislaus

Stanislaus County has not had much trouble, said Wayne Zipser, executive manager of its farm bureau. The county is the nation's leading producer of apricots, a hand-harvested crop now in season, but its cherry crop is much smaller than San Joaquin County's.

Stanislaus relies on hand labor for its sizable peach crop, which will start to be harvested next month. Ceres-area grower Scott Long said he has not had a problem finding workers.

"We're fortunate enough right now to be able to cover everything, and hopefully that goes through harvest time," he said.

The county's grape crop is mostly harvested by machine, unlike premium regions. So too are the far more extensive almond and walnut orchards.California Farm Bureau officials say the labor force typically peaks at about 450,000 in September.

Farm labor contractors saw warning signs as early as last year's grape harvest when a late season stretched the labor supply to the limit, said Guadalupe Sandoval, managing director of the Sacramento-based California Farm Labor Contractor Association.

"Things didn't ripen until late, so everybody needed workers at the same time," Sandoval said.

Reasons for the brake on immigrant labor are many.

Prices asked by the "coyotes" who smuggle workers across the border continue to rise — as high as $7,500, Sandoval is told. And, he said, "There's no guarantee of getting across. The coyotes may take your money. Maybe your life, as well."

The narco-terrorism plaguing Mexico makes a treacherous journey north even more perilous.

Fewer crossing the border

Jeff Passel, a senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., said surveys tracking the labor force "show a huge drop in the number of people setting out from Mexico. It's not surprising that that's having an effect on agriculture."

Mexico's demographics are changing, too, said Bryan Little, director of farm labor affairs at the California Farm Bureau Federation. Families are getting smaller and the population is aging, shrinking the number of workers crossing the border, he said.

Lawmakers have battled for years about various immigration reform strategies, including the guest-worker programs favored by many in the agricultural industry.

But Chuck Dudley, president of the Yolo County Farm Bureau, said the implications for American food consumers are severe if shortages worsen."If you don't get it planted, picked and packed, it won't get to the table," he said.

  Comments  

Videos

Boat tour of flooded Aberdeen Country Club

Myrtle Beach police introduce two new K-9 officers

View More Video

Trending Stories

Her dog attacked another dog, Horry cops say, and now she faces a criminal charge

February 18, 2019 03:07 PM

Dozens of Myrtle Beach, Horry firefighters responded to blaze near Fantasy Harbour

February 18, 2019 12:04 AM

Noodles and happy pancakes: Vietnamese eatery bringing new flavor to Myrtle Beach

February 19, 2019 11:07 AM

Here’s why Conway City Council members are irked at S.C. DOT following Monday’s meeting

February 18, 2019 07:22 PM

Mugshots, Feb. 18

February 18, 2019 08:56 AM

things to do

Read Next

See how Gov. McMaster and lawmakers plan to elevate veterans issues in South Carolina

Latest News

See how Gov. McMaster and lawmakers plan to elevate veterans issues in South Carolina

By Tom Barton

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 19, 2019 01:50 PM

SC Gov. Henry McMaster, joined by veterans and lawmakers, announced support for legislation establishing the Division of Veteran Affairs as a cabinet-level agency to elevate veterans‘ issues in the state.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sun News

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

Chadwell shakes up Coastal Carolina football coaching staff with additions, promotions

Coastal Carolina

Chadwell shakes up Coastal Carolina football coaching staff with additions, promotions

February 19, 2019 01:04 PM
Pro-marijuana crowd fights back after SC AG’s ‘most dangerous drug’ assertion

Latest News

Pro-marijuana crowd fights back after SC AG’s ‘most dangerous drug’ assertion

February 19, 2019 02:35 PM
Seven students hospitalized after speeding bus plunges down embankment, SC cops say

Latest News

Seven students hospitalized after speeding bus plunges down embankment, SC cops say

February 19, 2019 06:34 PM
Guns, NASCAR and Masters tickets used as bribes in failed SC nuclear project, feds say

South Carolina

Guns, NASCAR and Masters tickets used as bribes in failed SC nuclear project, feds say

February 19, 2019 04:32 PM
Why Colin Kaepernick didn’t win in his crusade despite the fact many others lost

Sports

Why Colin Kaepernick didn’t win in his crusade despite the fact many others lost

February 19, 2019 04:23 PM
Hootie & the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker to receive another award — this one for good deeds

Latest News

Hootie & the Blowfish’s Darius Rucker to receive another award — this one for good deeds

February 19, 2019 04:14 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Myrtle Beach Sun News App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Advertise
  • Rates
  • Contests & Promotions
  • Local Deals
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story