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Group warns of farm labor shortage
By JOSEPH P. SMITH
Tougher law enforcement action against farm workers illegally in the
country could squeeze the life out of a good section of New Jersey
agriculture, a study out Thursday claims.
Pioneer Farm Credit, a financial cooperative that lends to many farmers,
compiled the analysis based on 2002 federal census data.
In 2002, New Jersey had almost 10,000 farms. Cumberland County had 616.
Pioneer released the paper just before a telephone news conference that
included representatives of farming, farm labor and immigration reform
groups.
The study suggests 508
N.J. farms are "highly vulnerable" to labor shortages if workers are
scared off by strict immigration rules.
Those 508 farms employ
6,198 farm workers, not counting farm owners and operators.
About 19,500 jobs in
farm-related and farm-dependent businesses would be lost in a ripple
effect.
Pioneer Vice President Bob Smith, who authored the report, said western
New York has experienced the kind of labor crisis his report predicts
here.
Smith said workers left their jobs for a while because of crackdowns on
immigrants in the country illegally.
"This situation creates a major challenge for farmers who are trying to
plan for the future," he said.
Ed Overdevest, president of Overdevest Nurseries in Cumberland County,
said his nursery employs about 80 people, including laborers admitted
under a guest worker program. He blamed congressional inaction for a
"state of chaos."
"Unfortunately, too many of our leaders fail to realize they've pushed
our economy closer to the cliff," he said.
Overdevest participated in the teleconference.
The main audience for "An Untended Garden State?: Farm Labor Immigration
Reform and the Economic Impact to New Jersey's Agriculture" is the
Congress.
Speakers urged U.S. Sens. Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, both
D-N.J., and U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2, to pass an "emergency relief
act."
LoBiondo expressed sympathy but did not agree with the request.
"I remain committed to strengthening and expanding programs that bring
legal workers to South Jersey to work, and I support legislative efforts
to reduce the bureaucracy which workers and employers face," he said.
"However, granting blanket amnesty and immunity to individuals who have
broken U.S. laws is not the solution."
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