CORVALLIS (Oregon) GAZETTE-TIMES

August 31, 2006

Local Oregon growers hurt by labor shortage take concerns to Congress

MEDFORD — U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer says he will look for ways to help Rogue Valley pear and grape growers when Congress begins working on its $23 billion farm bill for 2007.

Local growers told the Oregon Democrat on Monday they were concerned about pending immigration laws and other regulatory forces that threaten their farms by reducing the number of available workers.

They told Blumenauer that a labor shortage could force some farmers out of business.

“The absolute key is immigration reform,’’ said Mike Naumes, president of Naumes Inc.

“Agriculture in this country could cease to exist,’’ Naumes said. “Our borders have dried up and there just isn’t the flow of people that we normally see.’’

Naumes said it would be nice to have 250 pickers harvesting pears, but he could get by with 200. “Right now, we’ve got between 160 and 170,’’ he said.

Pickers make well over $100 a day, earning $16 per bin. Some pick as many 10 bins in a day and the average is six to seven bins, Naumes said.

“If they stay the whole season, they get a $3 a bin bonus,’’ he said.

Blumenauer said the farm bill has provisions that reward people with subsidies for the wrong things.

“We should move subsidies away from a few commodities where we don’t need to encourage excess production to instead support sustainable practice,’’ Blumenauer said.

“This will stop the flow of two-thirds of the total subsidies going to the richest 10 percent of the farming community and half the payments going to only six states,’’ he said.

Pear growers haven’t asked for subsidies in the past. But they said they could use help in handling environmental research and water issues.

Blumenauer said he would like to see some adjustments to the bill that would benefit Oregon’s 7,000 farms, such as encouraging the development of organic practices in the pear industry.