We've been hearing a lot about a shortage of farm laborers, so the Capital Press is taking an in-depth look at the problem. Here's what I've found:
While some commodities in California reported little or no trouble finding enough labor, other growers have struggled to put together full crews.
For instance, asparagus farmers seemed to have enough laborers this spring, but when cherry harvests began to overlap with other tasks such as cutting grape vines, "people were having a heck of a time getting crews," said Bryan Little, director of labor affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation.
"People are having to make decisions about leaving spring work undone," Little said. However, "I don't know of specific instances of cherries going unharvested."
Citrus growers have reported some labor shortages, but they haven't been severe enough to hinder the harvest, said Paul Story, director of grower services for California Citrus Mutual.
"We are seeing less workers for the orange harvest, but a lot of those are going to other commodities such as tree fruit, and they're doing some things with grape pruning," Story said. "The labor force is getting spread out.
"Fortunately for us now, we're over our peak harvest and starting into our slower period," he said. "We don't have to harvest quite as much. I know of folks who are having to consolidate crews to get one decent crew ... We're still getting fruit harvested, though."
In the strawberry industry, labor shortages are "always a concern" because harvests are very labor intensive, said Carolyn O'Donnell, spokeswoman for the California Strawberry Commission.
However, because the peak harvest season runs from April until November, a significant percentage of workers come back every year, O'Donnell said. Many of them move up and down the coast as the season peaks in different areas, she said.
"It's a longer season, so during the height of the season, there's an opportunity to earn a fairly good wage," she said.
Also, picking strawberries is a specific skill that workers learn.
"It's tricky," she said.
Overall, Little estimates that crews for springtime crops are 30 percent to 40 percent lighter than normal. He said it's difficult to know whether that's an indicator of a labor shortage for summer and fall harvests.
He said factors for the shortage could include problems with drug cartels at the border or fears among laborers that tree damage from the hailstorm in the San Joaquin Valley earlier this year may mean there's less work available.
"It could be ... that people who are in Mexico are staying put to see how things are going to work out and they're not going to incur the expense of coming," Little said. "Or maybe they're afraid to move through those areas of northern Mexico right now."
Little said the shortage underscores the need for a better guest worker program for agriculture, adding that only 3,000 to 4,000 of the estimated 500,000 migrant workers in the U.S. come with an H-2A visa.
"We're still working with Congress on a viable agricultural guest worker program that will get people into the country in a timely and affordable way," Little said.
If a shortage persists, "people are going to make a business decision that it's cheaper to buy diesel fuel and disk it under than harvest it," he said.
Three other reporters are also working on this project, so for much more on this topic, check CapitalPress.com later next week.
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