NASSIF STATEMENT ON RELEASE OF GOP IMMIGRATION REFORM STANDARDS

Efforts for Long-term Immigration Solutions Praised

Western Growers president and CEO Tom Nassifissued this statement TODAY on the release of the GOP Immigration Reform Standards:

“I applaud Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, and Whip Kevin McCarthy for their efforts to move immigration forward in the House. The standards leadership have drafted represent a commitment to reforming our immigration system in a manner that respects the rule of law while strengthening the ability for agriculture to remain competitive in the world market. We especially applaud the specific acknowledgement of agriculture’s unique needs and look forward to working towards crafting a long term solution.

The commitment to dealing with our existing workforce in a humane and sensible manner, and making visa programs more market-based and workable are not only key priorities for our industry, they are consistent with Republican values. We appreciate the House leadership for their courage to lead on this critical issue. We look forward to working with all members of the House to move legislation forward that can finally fix our broken immigration system.”

Since 1926, Western Growers have represented local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona and California. Our members provide half the nation’s fresh fruits and vegetables including a third of America’s fresh organic produce. Some also farm throughout the U.S. and in other countries so people have year-round access to nutritious food. For generations we have provided variety and healthy choices as the first line of defense against obesity and disease. We grow the best medicine in the world.™

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:41:08-07:00January 31st, 2014|

Time Running Out for Immigration Bill

Republicans Must Compromise

On Immigration Bill

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

and Laurie Greene, Associate Editor

While it’s true that the majority of workers on California farms do not have legal status. And while there is a limited number of legal ag worker programs, the primary one being H2-A which is a stymied, and stifled program that only provides about four percent of the legal workforce, there is a critical need to get an Immigration Billed signed by the President.

Craig Regelbrugge

“We only have a few more weeks to get something done, but I believe it will happen,” said Craig Regelbrugge, Co-chair of Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform, speaking at the recent 32^nd Annual Agribusiness Management Conference in Fresno.

‘There is more enforcement and much of that is in the form of I-9 audits, where government officials come in and audits a farmer’s paperwork, which leads to the firing of a large number of very experience workers,” said Regelbrugge. “These workers are generally not deported, but instead move on to rebuild their lives doing something else.”

“All this is leading to uncertainty and labor shortages with many crops such as pears, strawberries not getting completely harvested this year,” Regelbrugge. “We are also seeing lost opportunities and offshoring of production to foreign countries that have the labor and resources to produce crops and then export it to us. This all leads to economic and job loss and the ripple effect across the ag sector of the economy,” he noted.

“There is still time in the remaining few weeks for the house to work on a compromise,” he said. “Republicans should move bills that support their fundamental principals like market oriented, limited Government, individual initiative such as what immigration reform is all about,” noted Regelbrugge.

Central Valley Congressmen David Valadon and Jeff Denham deserve credit in their support of immigration reform. We need Devin Nunes to support the bill along with the third ranking Kevin McCarthy with us as well.

A 21st Century America requires a 21^st Century Immigration system. Doing nothing is not an option. The bottom line is that the house must act this fall.

Also speaking at the conference was Monte Lake, a distinguished lawyer from the valley, specializing in agricultural employment, immigration and regulatory law.

Monte Lake

“Our challenge over the years has been to unify agriculture,” said Lake. “We have made progress by uniting all the players who have been impacted to develop a program that works.”

“We need reform,” Lake continued. “We have a shortage of labor, not just a projected shortage, and it is a national problem.

Lake believes national immigration reform affects the Central Valley more than elsewhere. “Locally, many workers are undocumented and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is in the Valley. Packers are now targeted and directed to fire 80% of their workforce. This often devastatingly disrupts harvest time. Before long, electronic verification of employment documents will be mandated.”

“The H2A program is the only guest worker program for agriculture and it does not work; only 4% of the workforce in California come through it,” said Lake. “H2A must have been designed by Soviet bureaucracy—it is cumbersome, unworkable and untimely for perishable commodities. The average bureaucratic delay is 22 days, and wage rates are not market-based.”

“The way to look at your future is you must have a Washington-perspective of what is doable,” Lake suggested. “A program that works must have basic standards demanded by the American public, including an acceptable basic wage, housing, and reasonable hours—a balance of worker and grower benefits.”

“But, here’s the challenge: it is not the world we want, it is the world we can achieve politically.”

The Senate has passed legislation for comprehensive agriculture immigration reform—theblue card program for the undocumented. Any undocumented who has worked in agriculture for 2 years, with a few caveats, can qualify for legal status. It is controversial because it touches on amnesty.

The intent is keep these individuals because we want to transition to an essential guest worker program, so we provide an incentive for undocumented farm workers to remain in agriculture. Visa programs and organized labor are against this.

The Senate supports factors such as administrative-free, work for anybody at will, administered by Department of Agriculture and not Department of Labor, with no cap on workers, careful consideration of wages for profitability, predictability and inflation.

Likewise, the House has drafted legislation that improves H2A but lacks structural changes. Undocumented workers can work for a 2-year period, but they must go home afterwards. A mass departure of farmworkers for an unspecified time concerns agricultural employers.

“Plus, mechanization has its limitations, and imports will increase,” Lake predicted.

Lake described a big advertisement by the agricultural industry this week in POLITICO, a widely read publication in Washington DC that shows an aircraft carrier sailing from American shores. On the deck is every type of agriculture, the message being that we are exporting our agricultural products overseas and must be able to compete internationally.

“We’ve go to solve this problem. If we fail, we will continue to have ICE and the H2A program,” warned Lake.

Lake summed up, “You have a good delegation in the Valley from both parties that recognizes the economic reality necessitating a viable immigration system. We’re talking about components: land, water, and labor.”

Lake emphasized, “You have to support and encourage the delegation; keep them active. Urge all of your colleagues in the industry to do the same. Make a lot of noise in Washington, DC because it impacts you. Keep up the pressure. Keep up the good work.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:43:11-07:00November 6th, 2013|

AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 2013

***Fresno Agribusiness Management Conference 2013* *is Oct. 31***

Leading Economist To Address Agribusiness Management Conference

Top economists will join with academic and business experts to discuss the economic outlook, global trade agreements, California’s water supply, immigration policy reform and other key issues at the 32nd Annual Agribusiness Management Conference to be held October 31, in Fresno.

Sponsored by Fresno State’s Center for Agricultural Business (CAB), Bank of America, Wells Fargo and the Zenith Insurance Company, the event will occur in partnership with supporting farm businesses, agencies and organizations. It will be held at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center downtown.

“Our markets are subject to the trends in the general economy and the global economy as well,” according to CAB Director Dr. Mechel Paggi. “The conference will feature expert speakers who will address these issues, and participants will be provided with supporting information and outlooks on specific commodities.”

Paggi will open the half-day event with an 8:00 a.m. The official greeting will be by the new President of Fresno State, Dr. Joseph Castro.

Following the opening remarks, at 8:15 a.m. Terry Barr, chief economist for CoBank, a national cooperative bank that is part of the farm credit system, will offer insights on upcoming economic challenges and opportunities in an address titled “Economic Outlook: Traversing the Minefield.”

Adding to the economic outlook will be a presentation by John Wainio, economist with the USDA Economic Research Service, who will discuss new developments in the global trade outlook in his presentation, “New Trade Agreements: Prospects for California Agriculture.”

Following a break, a panel will address the future of California’s water supply. Panelists include Ronald Jacobsma, general manager, Friant Water Authority; Jim Beck, Kern County Water Agency; and Thomas Birmingham, general manager, Westlands Water District. The panel will be moderated by David Zoldoske, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Irrigation Technology at Fresno State.

Wrapping up the morning sessions will be a discussion of the current state of immigration reform policy and its importance to California and the Central Valley. Offering a perspective on the progress in federal legislation will be Monte Lake, of CJ Lake, LLC. Mr. Lake is a prominent Washington, DC lawyer who has provided counsel on labor and other issues facing agricultural interests in California for more than 30 years.

Following Lake, Craig Reglbrugge, co-chair of the Agricultural Coalition for Immigration Reform, will discuss the group’s view on prospective changes to existing policies. The panel will wrap up with remarks from Fresno County Sheriff, Margret Mims, who will speak on the importance of immigration reform from the perspective of law enforcement community.

To conclude the event, Beacon Economics’ Jock O’Connell, one of California’s foremost authorities on world trade, global economic trends, and the internationalization of the Golden State’s economy, will offer his insights on the future in his presentation, “Imagining California in 2023: Economic Issues and Outlook.”

The conference is designed for farmers, farm managers, attorneys, appraisers, insurance personnel, processors, accountants, and others involved in California’s agribusiness industry.

Early registration fee is $100. Late or walk-in is $125. For more information, call 559.278.4405 or visit the CAB website at www.csufcab.com.

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:44:26-07:00September 30th, 2013|

GROUP URGES IMMIGRATION REFORM

Additional Appeal for

Immigration Reform

This week, a group of about 430 organizations sent a letter to House Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi urging Congress to enact legislation to reform our nation’s immigration system.

Undersigned organizations include: Paramount Farms, Adobe,California Chamber of Commerce, California Cotton Ginners Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sweet Potato Council of California, California Grape and Tree Fruit League, Oracle, California Strawberry Commission, Intel Corporation, Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, and Sun-Maid Growers of California

The letter reads, “Reform of an outdated, broken immigration system is essential if we are to achieve a fully revitalized economy that provides and accelerates rewarding and lasting jobs and opportunities for all Americans.” . . . “We deal with an immigration system that is now in its third decade and completely incapable of being responsive to an ever-changing national economy and hypercompetitive global marketplace.”

Leaders urge reform at a critical time when U.S. economic growth has struggled to recover. “Done right, reform will also serve to protect and complement our U.S. workforce, generating greater productivity and economic activity that will lead to new innovations, products, businesses, and jobs in communities across the U.S.”

“Problems with our immigration system have grown and multiplied to become an emerging threat to the current and future productivity, ingenuity, and competitiveness of key sectors of our economy, including

agriculture,” among others.

The letter urges Congress NOT to watch a generation-old immigration system work against the overall national interest. Rather it calls for Congress to recognize the clear benefits of immigration reform to the economy’s success and to collaborate to achieve pro-growth reform.

As stated in the letter, “Failure to act is not an option.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

IMMIGRATION REFORM IS AGENDA

Strawberry Growers In D.C. This Week

By Laurie Greene, Associate Editor

The California Strawberry Commission (CSC) has sent a delegation with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group to Washington, D.C. to explain the crucial need for immigration reform. The delegation intends to raise awareness of the critical role of immigrant labor in the success of California’s high-tech and agriculture industries and future job growth, as well as the overall health of the national economy. Finding a way to get a workforce here legally is of paramount importance.

According to Carolyn O’Donald, Communications Director of the CSC, the delegation members, representing the state’s two largest industries, are getting a positive response this week, thus far, from their meetings with congress people from both sides of the aisle. The group has had a number of meetings yesterday and today, and will brief White House staff tomorrow morning.

The CSC delegation has taken four strawberry growers who are between 1^st-and 3^rd-generation in this country from Watsonville, Salinas, Santa Maria and Orange County. They will press the need for comprehensive immigration reform, guest worker programs, and the workforce needed for the California agriculture and hi-tech industries.

“It may seem like an odd partnership between strawberries and hi tech,” O’Donald said, “but we have built a partnership with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group because we have a lot of characteristics in common. Immigrants play an integral part in both industries at the work level and at the leadership level in the running of the company.”

“About 65% of our strawberry farmers are Hispanic; some of multi-generational in this country,” explained O’Donald. “Our economy is built on immigrants. They worked in coalmines, oil refineries, and steel mills, and they built this country’s infrastructure. We are still building technology and working the land, so immigrants are major lynchpins in the California economy.”

“We’ve been letting this issue fall by the wayside for a long time; since the mid-1980s we have not had any kind of immigration reform. So, we are trying to see as many people in Washington, D.C. as possible–-the dealmakers–before their August recess,” O’Donald remarked. “We are also trying to show the California delegation, particularly the republican delegation, how important it is to get this done, this year we hope.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:06-07:00August 1st, 2013|

IMMIGRATION CRITICAL

July 31, 2013
Immigration Reform Update

Yesterday, the White House released a report, Fixing Our Broken Immigration System: The Economic Benefits to Agriculture and Rural Communities, detailing the important benefits provided by the bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill for the domestic agriculture sector, its workforce, and rural American communities.

According to the report, U.S. agriculture has grown in recent years, with farm income and agriculture exports reaching historic highs. At year’s end, net farm income is predicted to be $128.2 billion, the highest level since 1973 (adjusting for inflation). Much of this growth is due to the increased demand for and value of American agricultural exports. U.S. agricultural export value is projected to reach $135.8 billion in FY 2013, which would also establish a new record.

Immigration reform appears to be necessary to keep farms operations from moving abroad due to the labor shortage. The biggest effect is in California with its annual $34 billion produce industry, which is harvested mostly by illegal immigrant workers. Without a labor supply of migrant farm workers, the state could lose between $1.7 billion and $3.1 billion a year in lost farm income. The report said 74 percent of the state’s farm labor force is non-citizen, and probably most of those are undocumented.

Thus, the current agriculture industry is hampered by a broken immigration system that fails to provide a predictable and stable workforce. U.S. agriculture, among all economic sectors, is particularly dependent on foreign-born workers. Seventy-four percent of California’s agricultural workers are non-citizens, the highest in any state, and a majority of them are undocumented workers, according to the White House report.

Agricultural producers report difficulty in locating qualified, available, authorized workers—both foreign and domestic—as one reason for the high rate of undocumented labor. Moreover, there continue to be insufficient U.S. workers to fill labor needs; 71 percent of crop workers surveyed between 2007 and 2009 were foreign born. By providing a path to earned citizenship for currently unauthorized farmworkers, the Senate bill gives these workers and their families the security needed to further their skills and education and pursue higher-paying employment.

The Senate passed historic legislation in June 2013 to strengthen border security while providing an earned path to citizenship for undocumented farmworkers who are vital to our nation’s agriculture industry, and a new temporary worker program negotiated by major grower associations and farmworker groups. If enacted, the Senate bill is estimated to allow 1.5 million agricultural workers and their dependents to come to the U.S.

Strength in agricultural production supports other parts of the economy, particularly in rural communities, which should see a boost in farm output. An economic analysis by the Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) reported that an expanded H-2A visa program would raise GDP by approximately $2 billion in 2014 and $9.79 billion in 2045. With declining native-born rural populations, the strength and continuity of rural America is contingent on commonsense immigration reform that improves job opportunities, provides local governments with tools for success, and increases economic growth.

With so much at stake, the agricultural community awaits the House to address immigration reform. We, in California have so much to gain, and very much to lose, depending on the outcome.

As follow-up, the American Farm Bureau Federation and more than 400 leading U.S. businesses and advocacy organizations called on the House to enact immigration reform legislation. The letter, sent today, was signed by a broad cross section of industries that includes agriculture, housing, retail, tourism, hospitality, technology, engineering, manufacturing, finance, venture capital, consumer electronics and others with a combined presence in every state in the United States.

“We deal with an immigration system that is now in its third decade and completely incapable of being responsive to an ever-changing national economy and hypercompetitive global marketplace. Today, the problems with our immigration system have grown and multiplied to become an emerging threat to the current and future productivity, ingenuity and competitiveness of key sectors of our economy, including agriculture, housing, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, tourism, engineering and technology.”

“Failure to act is not an option. We can’t afford to be content and watch a generation-old immigration system work more and more against our overall national interest. Instead, we urge Congress to remain mindful of the clear benefits to our economy if we succeed, and work together and with us to achieve real, pro-growth immigration reform.”

Patrick Cavanaugh2016-05-31T19:47:07-07:00August 1st, 2013|