Too few immigrants = an absolute ag industry loss
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:03AM 
WSJ story on how 1/4 of second-biggest crop ever of Washington State apples is going to rot on the tree/ground due to a severe shortage of immigrant labor. Compounding the insult, the apple crops elsewhere in the nation are dramatically down this year due to drought conditions, so the nation's is really screwing itself on an agricultural bright spot this year thanks to our inspired national crackdown on illegal immigration.
Apples are Washington's top ag produce earner: $7B supporting 60k permannent jobs in the ag sector.
But it doesn't work without the access to seasonal farm workers....
Yes, they have tried with prison labor in the past. Turns out prisoners don't work very hard - go figure.
Damn (lack of) illegal immigrants are ruining this country!
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Reader Comments (2)
I was born and raised in Washington apple country, as was my father before me. When he was in school most schools had a fall break that conincided with the apple harvest. By the time I was in school this had largely fallen by the wayside except in a very few places. My brother went to school in Cowiche and they discontinued the break after his freshman (2002-2003) of high school. Maybe if school districts in apple country still had fall breaks during harvest like they used to, this wouldn't be an issue.
There isn't exactly a short of poorly educated people wanting- or needing- to come to this country. Rohingyas being told they're neither Burmese or Bangladeshi, North Korean refugees threatened with death or worse if China sends them back, the list goes on.