Kentucky's agriculture and immigrants

The Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association has closely monitored current legislative efforts to affect Kentucky immigrant residents and citizens. Much has been written blaming the federal government for its inaction that led to this emotional crossroads.

The Co-op represents all burley growers in five states — primarily Kentucky. We are a marketing co-op but also serve as the primary policy representative for burley growers in Frankfort and Washington.

Burley growers are not particularly concerned with affecting federal laws determining the pathway to citizenship. However it is undeniable that the proposed legislation is directly aimed at the Hispanic population that continues to increase while serving labor needs of all agriculture, home building construction, food services and hotel domestic staffing. They are the backbone of Kentucky's agriculture, enabling millions of tax revenues benefiting local, state and federal governments.

It brings to the forefront the changes to our society that began in the mid-1980s continuing through today that discourage local unemployed American citizens to accept employment opportunities in favor of leisure activities, as well as receiving social benefits, including up to 99 weeks of unemployment payments.

Agricultural labor — particularly harvest work — has always been done best by younger people, simply by the physical requirements. Today's younger generation is not encouraged to take these temporary positions in lieu of preparation for higher pursuits.

We should use today's discussion on “immigration issues” to examine why the federal government has failed to allow a steady, reliable and legal system to provide for American agriculture harvests.

The Burley Co-op has invested heavily in efforts to assist Kentucky agriculture in legal methods to provide labor by creating Agriculture Workforce Management Association that coordinates H2A workers with employers. It is not surprising this unwieldy system has failed to be adequate. Farmers desperate for harvest workers should not be scapegoats for failed government policies that threaten their livelihood.

Solutions lie in correcting our social benefit systems to encourage employment along with methods to properly register sufficient supplemental alien workers to grow our agricultural base rather than continuing to lose potential sales to countries we compete with daily.

We look forward to open and honest dialogue in our state legislature. Agriculture will be watching and willing to participate.

source: www.courier-journal.com