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amandabeech

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47. My home area is agricultural. The big crops are asparagus, cherries and apples.

Tue Dec 11, 2012, 05:45 PM

Dec 2012

Asparagus and apples are picked by hand. Cherries are "shaken"--a piece of tractor-like machinery grabs the trunk of the tree and surround the bottom of the tree with what looks like two butterfly wing shaped nets strung on frames. The grabbing arm shakes the trunk vigorously, and I mean vigorously, and the cherries fall in the net.

Asparagus and apple harvests are long hours, but the workers normally get a little time off.

Red tart pie cherries are very, very delicate fruits. The farmers get paid by the pound, and the cherries are a little heavier at night and in the morning, without evapotranspiration, so many cherries are shaken from midnight to 10 a.m. to get a little more money. No one gets a day off during the cherry harvest, but it only lasts about 10 days.

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Valley hit by worker shortage plaguing rest of U.S. [View all] AlphaCentauri Dec 2012 OP

Raise wages. Problem solved. NT Trillo Dec 2012 #1

Simple Roy Rolling Dec 2012 #2

Not if there are no takers. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #5

Did the growers raise the wage they were offering???? If not, then I don't coalition_unwilling Dec 2012 #6

See my reply #12, below DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #13

Only by 50% DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #46

Well there's the problem. 'Reasonably' increased wages. denverbill Dec 2012 #9

We pay per ton. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #12

How can Europe do it? Clouseau2 Dec 2012 #15

I'll get back to you on that DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #19

See my #17. nt jody Dec 2012 #23

Just a thought, don't buy the wine if you can't afford to upaloopa Dec 2012 #31

A good picker can make a couple of hundred dollars a day. nt DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #34

How many days a year is that upaloopa Dec 2012 #41

Your link reminds me dipsydoodle Dec 2012 #57

Why are there so many people growing grapes? upaloopa Dec 2012 #29

Because wine consumption is through the roof. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #36

really, they should all be growing pot. olddad56 Dec 2012 #37

How much more are you willing to pay for food? Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #16

How do you deal with the seasonal nature of planting, cultivating, and harvesting? nt jody Dec 2012 #24

Excellent point primavera Dec 2012 #58

Exactly. nt jody Dec 2012 #60

Historically there was a pool of low wage migrant labor that followed the seasons. Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #66

I have heard this crap before. The cost to pay a reasonable wage to harvest is less that Vincardog Dec 2012 #28

Kind of depends upon what one considers reasonable, doesn't it? primavera Dec 2012 #62

You are talking about several million workers. Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #67

I will gladly pay the extra 2% that doubling ag workers pay would add to my food bill. Your Vincardog Dec 2012 #71

Your belief that only 2% increase will accrue... Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #72

One of us seems to be defending the status quo. I like the way you put words in my mouth Vincardog Dec 2012 #73

Not true. The biggest factor in food prices is the overhead of non-productive corporate Egalitarian Thug Dec 2012 #63

But the cost will be passed to you and me. Agnosticsherbet Dec 2012 #68

Does the state pay for the healthcare, etc. for farm workers or do JDPriestly Dec 2012 #3

The burden is pushed onto the counties. I work for Santa Barbara County upaloopa Dec 2012 #35

Low wages are not the problem, it's hard physical labor and sometimes being paid by the unit. Those jody Dec 2012 #4

They are looking for permission to abuse people. justice1 Dec 2012 #7

And how many of these farmers need cheap labor because they are working for agri-corporations that kelliekat44 Dec 2012 #18

My home area is agricultural. The big crops are asparagus, cherries and apples. amandabeech Dec 2012 #47

Tomatoes at $4 AND SOME close to five dollars a pound. julian09 Dec 2012 #8

Do co ops receive subsidies for the crops experiencing labor shortages? Except for tobacco which is jody Dec 2012 #11

Of course tomatoes are $4, it's December. LeftyMom Dec 2012 #22

Bananas are cheap about .59c to .80c a pound and come from much further away and tropical climates. julian09 Dec 2012 #39

Tomato juice and spaghetti sauce are cheap because they're canned when tomatoes are naturally ripe, LeftyMom Dec 2012 #43

Who wants to be a migrant? TwilightGardener Dec 2012 #10

California Farm Bureau Federation, what is this important sounding agency? olddad56 Dec 2012 #14

The Farm Bureau, founded in 1911 to off set the much more progressive Grange happyslug Dec 2012 #56

Posts to this thread show little to no understanding of the problems facing agriculture both jody Dec 2012 #17

Despite what you might think, we do have everything from grapes to orchards here. justice1 Dec 2012 #20

I'm not sure "teenagers to harvest the fields on the weekends" is a viable option for some crops. nt jody Dec 2012 #21

It would allow their workforce to have some time off, and my kids have done it without problems. justice1 Dec 2012 #40

Teenagers in vineyards? Recipe for disaster. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #26

So, what's the going rate for a skilled grape harvester? hedgehog Dec 2012 #30

We were offering $300/ton, up from $200 last Harvest DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #32

OK, let's take that apart a little - hedgehog Dec 2012 #38

I'll try to explain... DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #44

"In years past, they made enough to support their families in Mexico until the next harvest" hedgehog Dec 2012 #49

That's just what they do DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #50

It's the Real World, but people need to understand where cheap food comes from. hedgehog Dec 2012 #51

The dairy farmers are getting hosed DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #53

I'm in Upstate New York, near Lake Ontario. hedgehog Dec 2012 #54

Heh, we are in Ryebrook (near White Plains) for a few days. DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #55

So there are six guys picking. Are there six guys and gals at the management company? Trillo Dec 2012 #65

I don't know the number DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #69

Nail on the head DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #27

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said farmings �becoming less and less relevant�. His statement is jody Dec 2012 #42

No shit? DollarBillHines Dec 2012 #45

I worked my way through college picking flowers in Florida fasttense Dec 2012 #25

You cannot compare Florida Sekhmets Daughter Dec 2012 #33

In the '50s and '60s in my home area, you'd see lots of Mexican plates amandabeech Dec 2012 #48

Is this why tree nuts are running about $20/lb these days?? kestrel91316 Dec 2012 #52

American fruit and vegetable farmers are now in competition with foreign suppliers for the domestic hedgehog Dec 2012 #59

You've hinted at what has and is happening. Government subsidies (corporate welfare) has so Egalitarian Thug Dec 2012 #64

Russia is in the WTO now and a customer for almonds and other nuts. nt jody Dec 2012 #61

With tight borders they've lost that next generation to exploit for cheap labor ... Wernothelpless Dec 2012 #70