NAPLES (Florida) DAILY NEWS

February 7, 2010

Michael Peltier: The other side of the freeze

TALLAHASSEE — Florida growers may soon see federal assistance for the recent freezes that devastated winter crops as far south as Immokalee and Homestead.

Farmworkers, who have seen their paychecks temporarily frozen as well, are waiting for similar relief.

Despite an emergency disaster declaration made last week by federal officials to assist growers affected by the low temperatures, legal farmworkers whose livelihoods are indelibly linked to the frozen crops have yet to receive any federal aid.

In response, a small group made the trek to Tallahassee last week to urge Gov. Charlie Crist to submit a formal request for emergency aid. Such a request is the first step in a series that could bring unemployment benefits, food stamps and United States Department of Agriculture commodities to more than 100,000 families who work the fields.

Those benefits, however, can only come with a presidential declaration. A presidential declaration can only come in response to a governor’s request.

“While growers are now able to apply for programs to help them… farmworkers are unable to feed their families, to pay their rent and utility bills, to buy school supplies for their children, to put fuel in their vehicles and to otherwise provide for their families,” said Tirson Moreno, general coordinator for the Farmworker Association of Florida, which is urging Crist’s office to act quickly.

A spokesman for Crist said Thursday a request was still being considered but by week’s end there had been nothing from the governor’s office.

“We are working with the Division on Emergency Management and the Ag Commissioner’s office to gather data and information that may be used to support a declaration request,” Sterling Ivey said last week.

On Jan. 29, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared 60 of Florida’s 67 counties primary natural disaster areas, which makes growers affected by the freeze eligible for low interest emergency loans to help cover part of their actual losses. The declaration came in response to a request by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson.

Most farmers have crop insurance — to be eligible for federal disaster relief, they must have insurance — but private coverage is not immediately available, and in many cases farmers have to pay out of pocket before they are reimbursed.

Farmworkers are not part of that declaration. They also do not qualify for traditional unemployment benefits because they work for several employers and often don’t spend enough time with a single grower to be eligible for traditional benefits.

Even under ideal circumstances, it will be six weeks before crops are sufficiently mature to translate into callbacks for many workers. In the meantime, Elias Chairs, a tomato packer from Immokalee, has dipped into meager savings to feed his family.

“So far I’ve been able to provide,” Chairs said in Spanish through an interpreter. “Tomorrow? I don’t know.”