The inability of Florida farmers to find Americans willing to work to fill jobs abandoned by immigrants fearful of being taken into custody has some of them stating they will have to cut back on future plantings out of fear of going out of business.
According to a report from NPR, those farmers have suffered losses of almost half their seasonal workers and can’t afford to replace them with H2A visa workers as has been suggested by Donald Trump administration officials.
NPR’s Jasmine Garsd is reporting that despite pleas from farmers to grant amnesty to farm workers, the Trump administration is resisting, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins telling them, “Ultimately, the answer to this is automation. And then also when you think about it, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program. There are plenty of workers in America.”
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According to the report, “Farmers NPR spoke to called this idea ludicrous. Many said they are paying well above the minimum wage, and yet they have gotten few American-born job applicants.”
John Walt Boatright, director of government affairs at the American Farm Bureau, agreed and explained, “The interest and the willingness to work on farms has not been there. It hasn't been there for a long time."
One strawberry farmer claimed the loss of manpower, due to the immigrant round-ups, is crippling his ability to make a living.
"The government is killing farming. This is going to end us,” he lamented before adding, "I'm drastically cutting down production next year to 35% of what I usually do."
Jeb Smith, president of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation agreed and stated consumers should be alarmed.
"I think the American consumer ought to be concerned about food being a national security issue. Any time that there is a threat to not getting a safe, affordable and abundant food supply, it should be concerning to the American public. We do not want to be dependent on foreign countries for our food. That could be a very devastating reality,” he stated before warning, “That is a dangerous thing to dabble with."