Idaho Farmers: 'We Just Can't Find American People To Do The Work'

Idaho Statesman:

Jim Little of Emmett says the government is making it too difficult for Idaho farmers to follow the rules and employ legal immigrants rather than border jumpers.

“It seems like they take great joy in piling on minutia and things we have to do,” said Little, who grows grain and hay and is the brother of Lt. Gov. Brad Little.

Read the whole story at Idaho Statesman

Comments

[vidian6]

10:30 PM on 05/25/2012

Not this nonsense again. What they mean is that they can't find anyone who will do the work for $4.00 an hour. Pay someone a wage they can live on and I guarantee you that you'll have more workers than you can count.

[Cory111]

09:58 PM on 05/27/2012

You posted: Pay someone a wage they can live on and I guarantee you that you'll have more workers than you can count.

Sure a lot more ambulance drivers running back and forth from field to field. Talk to the farmers in Alabama about the local tomato pickers they hired.

Lets talk about a wage they can live on OK? When you load your life up with toys don't expect business to pay for your goodies.

Obama 2012-2016

[vidian6]

10:26 PM on 05/27/2012

Load your life up with toys, boy bigots go a long way to keep from dealing with their true postion. What toys are you speaking of, because the reality is that if you want someone to work your fields you need to pay them a decent wage. In case you haven't heard Lincoln Freed the slaves.

[Gilbert Albright]

12:22 PM on 05/09/2012

TOTAL BULL! It's not the rules or the law IT'S THE WAGES! No American will work for the low wages these farmers pay because they can't live on it.. They can make more money working at a fast food job.

THE OIL INDUSTRY has no problem getting Americans for THEIR JOBS in remote parts of ALASKA, under harsh conditions and below freezing temperatures because they PAY HIGH WAGES!

Idaho is a Red State. Hardcore Republican. They are just making excuses to get support to allow them to hire illegals to increase their profit margin on top of the Federal Government subsidies that most farmers get. It's all about the money!

[Cory111]

10:02 PM on 05/27/2012

You posted: They can make more money working at a fast food job.

If that is the case why are the unemployment lines so long?

We have been on a buying binge for years, "I want it, I want it now and lets talk about paying for it later."

Live within your means, buy what you can afford and NEVER expect your job to last forever. That is the foundation of the "American Dream."

Obama 2012-2016

[Captain Hindsight]

07:50 AM on 05/09/2012

"Idaho's prison population now totals 7,951 with about 700 overflow inmates housed at county jails, which are at or near capacity throughout southeastern Idaho."

How much does it cost to keep someone locked up in Idaho?
Are "Low Risk" inmates who doing time for non-violent crimes willing to do fieldwork for reduced prison time?

[bart4u]

02:43 AM on 05/09/2012

Americans will not do this kind of work. It is the truth. Food prices will increase because the farmers do not have the labor. Thank the Republicans for you increase in your food bill.

[authorized-user]

09:26 PM on 05/08/2012

Perhaps you can get your congressmen to pick your rotting crops after they voted for anti immigration laws?

[nothingchanges]

08:55 PM on 05/08/2012

Two questions

How much do you pay your laborers?

How hard would YOU PERSONALLY work for that wage?

Honest answers to both of those questions, might be quite revealing.

[Computer Geek]

06:28 PM on 05/08/2012

Funny! Just keep making those laws down there in Arizona and you'll bring farm production to it's knees. But it's funny how most of the farmers (at least around here) are Republicans. As I've tried to point out with comments on here for several other stories: Be careful what you ask for, because you might get exactly what you want! ROTFLMFAO!!!!!

People just don't understand that if you don't work a problem and proposed solutions all the way through from beginning to end with realistic expectations at each step along the way that you end up with spaghetti when you were trying make soup.

[StopMakingSense2]

01:31 PM on 05/08/2012

It seems that way when you are only willing to pay slave wages with no benefits. Wow people aren't lining up for that? Conservatives are going to have to make things even more desperate for their economic models to work!

[demisfine]

12:33 PM on 05/08/2012

How about offering living wages and benefits???
You aren't going to get Americans, with American expenses, to work for the wages immigrants accept.

[Computer Geek]

07:01 PM on 05/08/2012

Not only that, but expect them to be in one place for strawberries, pick up and move for grapes, move again for onions, etc. Then during the winter have absolutely no income at all. That's just a wonderful family life right there. Where do I sign up? NOT!!!

[Fran Jaime]

10:47 PM on 05/26/2012

Do you expect the crops to come to you?

[satyrday]

11:48 AM on 05/08/2012

This is the REAL Atlas shrugging.

[wsdave]

11:13 AM on 05/08/2012

One of the big reasons not to farm in high relative wage countries.

[satyrday]

11:49 AM on 05/08/2012

Food supply is way too important to rely on imports.

[Godbob]

11:07 AM on 05/08/2012

If they pay a living wage the price of food will spike, if they don't the crops will rot in the field and we get a price spike. In either case... Get ready for a price spike in food. The silver lining... Those that have been voting against their best interests will be impacted most and they will pay a price for their stupidity.

[kwhitney333]

10:50 AM on 05/08/2012

Maybe if they were paid a living wage they could get workers....Farmers get government sub not to grow food, how about this try growing food! You know food that is in demand....Stop whining oh we don't want illegals taking all of our government benefits but we want them to work for a small wage and spend the money here...If you cant make the kind of profit you are use to sell your farm...to someone who can automate it....

[maninal2]

10:45 AM on 05/08/2012

For a typical household, a 40 percent increase in farm labor costs translates into a 3.6 percent increase in retail prices. If farm wages rose 40 percent, and this wage increase were passed on to consumers, average spending on fresh fruits and vegetables would rise about $15 a year, the cost of two movie tickets. However, for a typical seasonal farm worker, a 40 percent wage increase could raise earnings from $10,000 for 1,000 hours of work to $14,000 — lifting the wage above the federal poverty line.

[wsdave]

11:12 AM on 05/08/2012

Would they find any workers at $10/hour? $14?

[maninal2]

02:18 PM on 05/08/2012

When they offer those rates we'll see... currently that is not the case

[maninal2]

10:43 AM on 05/08/2012

The cost of labor to the retail price of goods is less than 10%. The arguments against paying a fair wage is just more corporate lies.