Fears of a labor shortage prompt a leading tomato grower to plant other crops this year

Without a federal guest-worker program in place, the leading tomato grower in the northeastern United States says he "simply can’t risk planting a crop that could end up rotting in the fields," reports Peter Shinn of Brownfield Network.

Without a dependable source of labor to harvest tomatoes, Keith Eckle said he will shift to pumpkins and sweet corn this year. "But because produce is of such greater value, even with high commodity prices, Eckle said he’ll probably only make a third of the profit he enjoys in a typical year," Shinn writes. "And according to Eckle, there's much more at stake than his operation. Unless Congress takes action to put a useable guest worker program in place, Eckle said, American consumers can look forward to increasing dependence on foreign sources of produce." Eckle said the existing H2A visa program requires too much work and effort for the number of workers he needs. (Read more)

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security renewed its effort to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. The DHS proposed a similar effort last fall, and farmers worried that such an effort coupled with the lack of a guest-worker program would disrupt the harvest.