Happy Cesar Chavez Day!
I have felt for some time that an opportunity exists for agriculture, agri-business and those of us on the left to work together, make common cause, and make new friends: immigration reform.
In an article Saturday the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/us/california-farmers-short-of-labor-and-patience.html?_r=1
explored the impact of lack of such reforms on agriculture in California, with the number of workers declining, and the stable immigrant work force aging out of heavy labor in the fields - workers are just a decade behind the aging farmer population, pushing 50 while the farmers approach medicare age.
One of the happy upshots of this situation is that growers and agricultural advocacy and lobbying groups are getting fed up with the Republican impasse in Congress. Generations of loyalty to the right on the part of Central Valley growers is being challenged by the aggregate behavior of Republicans. There are, of course, exceptions - the Times article notes Congress members Valadao and Denham. But the GOP could lose a key faction of supporters it it doesn't start moving on some sort of immigration reform.
Between the drought and the immigration impasse these are tough times for agriculture in California. Beyond the present stresses, I wonder about the long term impact on our wallets, our environment and our civic life.
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