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Major Pennsylvania tomato producer quits, blames Congress
United States
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Keith Eckel, the largest producer of fresh market tomatoes in Pennsylvania, is getting out of the business.
Fearing that the labor needed to harvest his tomatoes won't be there when he needs it, Eckel announced yesterday that after decades of growing tomatoes, he was calling it quits.
He placed the blame squarely at the feet of Congress and its failure to enact what he called a meaningful immigration reform measure. "The system is broken," Eckel said before a crowd of neighbors, employees and news media gathered in the packing house at his farm near Scranton. "It's a sad day," he said. "We're closing a part of our business that we really love."
Eckel's problems are echoed coast to coast by farmers who are reliant on foreign farm workers allowed into the country each year to plant, pick and package crops.
Eckel said the impact of the government's increased vigilance on illegal immigration and the lack of action on an immigration reform bill has sown doubt among farmers that they will be able to count on a predictable and sufficient work force.
The push for immigration reform has stalled in Congress and little action is expected during the rest of this election year. The problem can be solved if Congress would pass a viable and accessible guest-worker program, Eckel said. Otherwise, he and other farmers say they are not going to take the risk of planting crops they can't harvest for lack of a workforce. Eckels estimated the value of his tomato crop at US$1.5 million to US$2 million.
"It is a real concern, and we are disappointed that Congress has failed to act," said Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau. "Ultimately, consumers will feel this." Eckel warned that unless the issue was resolved, it would eventually drive the fresh fruit and vegetable industry offshore, causing an inevitable rise in food prices.
Last year, Eckel employed 180 people, but this spring, when he plants crops that can be handled by machines, he will employ five.
Fearing that the labor needed to harvest his tomatoes won't be there when he needs it, Eckel announced yesterday that after decades of growing tomatoes, he was calling it quits.
He placed the blame squarely at the feet of Congress and its failure to enact what he called a meaningful immigration reform measure. "The system is broken," Eckel said before a crowd of neighbors, employees and news media gathered in the packing house at his farm near Scranton. "It's a sad day," he said. "We're closing a part of our business that we really love."
Eckel's problems are echoed coast to coast by farmers who are reliant on foreign farm workers allowed into the country each year to plant, pick and package crops.
Eckel said the impact of the government's increased vigilance on illegal immigration and the lack of action on an immigration reform bill has sown doubt among farmers that they will be able to count on a predictable and sufficient work force.
The push for immigration reform has stalled in Congress and little action is expected during the rest of this election year. The problem can be solved if Congress would pass a viable and accessible guest-worker program, Eckel said. Otherwise, he and other farmers say they are not going to take the risk of planting crops they can't harvest for lack of a workforce. Eckels estimated the value of his tomato crop at US$1.5 million to US$2 million.
"It is a real concern, and we are disappointed that Congress has failed to act," said Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau. "Ultimately, consumers will feel this." Eckel warned that unless the issue was resolved, it would eventually drive the fresh fruit and vegetable industry offshore, causing an inevitable rise in food prices.
Last year, Eckel employed 180 people, but this spring, when he plants crops that can be handled by machines, he will employ five.
