Summary
California farmers, many of whom supported Trump, face a potential crisis as his immigration policies threaten mass deportations of undocumented workers, who make up at least half of the state’s 162,000 farm labor force.
Deportations could devastate agriculture, leading to labor shortages, unharvested crops, and rising food prices.
Farmers hope for solutions such as workforce legalization or expanded H-2A guest worker programs, though these have been criticized for exploitation risks.
Historical parallels to programs like “Operation Wetback” and the bracero system highlight possible labor and human rights challenges ahead.
Still wild the conversation NEVER turns to the people employing undocumented workers and instead demonize the workers themselves.
The point isn’t to actually deport these people, it’s to give their employers and landlords a powerful tool to exploit them and prevent them from benefitting from any social services.
My Uncle is a close friend of Jeff Landry (R-Louisiana) and voted for Trump.
Constantly would demonize illegal immigrants with all kinds of vitriolic accusations. Then would immediately brag that his hydro seeding company is making so much profit because he hires almost exclusively illegal immigrants and pays them peanuts under the table.
I’ve reported him to the state numerous times but nothing ever gets done (remember who he is close friends with now…)
I hope he goes out of business. I hope it ruins him.
Thank you for trying, I hope it ruins him too
They don’t even remember that the leopards ate their faces last time…
But, but I though undocumented immigrants were lazy?! How can they both be lazy and take all the jobs?!
California farmers are some of the most ignorant people I have ever encountered.
I’m guessing the reason they didn’t want to say who they voted for is cognitive dissonance.
Woah there. That’s a pretty damned broad brush you are painting with. In fact it’s a pretty damned ignorant comment.
Do you think EVERY farmer in California is a Republican and/or Trump supporter?
Edit: Before you down vote (but of course feel free), kindly consider this: 89% of all farms in the US are small-scale family farms with less than $350k revenue (note that profit margins in farming hover around 10%). A growing number of new farms are organic/sustainable/agroecological. These are not Trump-supporting people, ffs. Please ask yourself what purpose it serves you to over-generalize and angrily shake your fist at ALL farmers as if somehow all farmers are conservative. All you are doing is furthering the industrial food systems narrative of farmer=bad. Think about it.
Do you think EVERY farmer in California is a Republican and/or Trump supporter?
The ignorant ones probably are
Of course. And there are many. But there are also many farmers in California - I am one - who would never in a million years vote for Trump or anyone like him.
As someone who comes from a rural area and whos ancestors were made up of farm owners, farmhands, and engineers who worked with both the two previous most, modern farmers especially those fucking profligates in the central valley are dumb as shit and ignorant as all hell. They are highly traditional in the worst ways, my ancestors figured out drip farming for orchards over a hundred years ago yet its championed by those mouth breathers as some great breakthrough.
Hate to break it to you but most of our ancestors were farm owners or farmhands.
“modern farmers especially those fucking profligates in the central valley are dumb as shit and ignorant as all hell.”
Why do you have such hate for farmers? Is it that you don’t like food? You feel you have a better way of eating?
I have nothing against the competent ones, but most arent. As I noted they treat drip feed watering as some massive breakthrough when my own ancestors figured it out a hundred years ago.
Also their intelligence states nothing on their ability to produce food, 90 percent of the time they arent building the actual hardware or equipment. The ones reliant on illegal labor are a fine example of folks who could be removed and nothing would be lost. The ones who do their actual fucking job and arent reliant on others running things I have nothing against as a group.
I have nothing against the competent ones, but most arent.
No offense, but unless you are an experienced and successful commercial farmer, you are simply not qualified to make that assessment. And it really shows. Oh don’t worry, I hear this sort of horse shit all the time from people with exactly zero farming experience.
As I noted they treat drip feed watering as some massive breakthrough
Do you know anything about irrigation at all? I suspect not. There are several issues here, but mainly it boils down to basic cost-benefit. I have a friend who’s family has senior water rights for their farm in the central valley. Rest assured, they are perfectly well aware of drip irrigation and have been for probably longer than you’ve been alive. But they flood irrigate, and why? It’s the most cost effective method for them in their situation. You can complain all you want about whether that’s the “best” method for other reasons, but’s the most sensible approach for their farm.
It’s notable that this is the only example you can give.
Also their intelligence states nothing on their ability to produce food, 90 percent of the time they arent building the actual hardware or equipment.
This sentence is completely nonsensical. Are you saying that you are judging they are not competent because ability to produce food aside, they aren’t spending their time programing embedded C**? That they don’t build equipment?
I really don’t even know what you mean, but some basic facts are completely untrue.
- Take ANY farm and you will find that farmers make their own equipment constantly. Farmers as a whole are constantly innovating in order to gain efficiency. That you don’t know this is a basic fact of life for farmers everywhere is perplexing.
- Farming is all about gaining efficiencies at ever step in the process but a the same time you don’t get a lot of seasons in your life to test out new methods, meaning you have to balance innovation with risk constantly.
- 90% of a farmer’s time is spent on the basics. Planting, harvesting, marketing, business management. What else would you expect?
The ones reliant on illegal labor are a fine example of folks who could be removed and nothing would be lost.
Completely FALSE. Early on in my farming life I worked on a farm that made use of undocumented workers. These same workers came back to this farm year after year where they had a welcome home and were paid well. The owner of the farm relied on their labor because he could not find their skills anywhere else, and I believe it - I worked side by side with them and they were amazing. Nobody local could compete even if they wanted to do that work. I earned less than half of their wage and totally respected that.
The ones who do their actual fucking job and arent reliant on others running things I have nothing against as a group.
You really have no idea what you are talking about.
** In the winter I build various Arduino devices for controlling irrigation, greenhouse temperature controls, etc. I’m hardly unique in that.
This is a difference in philosophy it seems, let me elaborate better.
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All functions of a farm should be done by a farmer on the day to day, harvedt season not withstanding. Be it mechanical repairs, land improvements, or botanical work.
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Maintenance of resources, I dont care if its more cash efficient since thats irrelevant. Proper maintenance of raw resources of things like water and soil will pay in dividends a hundred years from that point. I will stab folks who flood water.
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Construction of equipment, the over reliance of shitty companies like john deer is pathetic. I get it to a degree but the fact of the matter is that farmers should be trying to build up the required infrastructure to circumvent their BS monopoly copyright be damned.
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Use of illegal labor has no excuse, its exploitation clean and simple. I dont care if they have skillsets you need, lobby for an improvement to the visa system. If ya need something done in a specific way increase pay, work quality, and give them the proper time for training. If not I dont care if your fields blight.
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Waste of resources, shit shouldnt be left to rot. If ya cant harvest or its dollar inefficient then you shouldnt have planted. If its a grove then cut it down.
And then finally, I have worked on a farm. My great aunts to be precise the day to day was just us. I was payed 20 an hour and I did everything from repairing fences to jury rigging a 90 year old tractor back to life just to use it to tow the sowing machine. I am of the opinion that to run a farm ya need to be as independent as possible and as resource efficient as possible, also cash doesnt count as a raw resource.
And then finally, I have worked on a farm.
Really? I couldn’t tell. What I can tell is that you’ve never owned and run one.
All functions of a farm should be done by a farmer on the day to day
In theory I don’t disagree. In practice, you need to hire people. That’s just the basic economic reality when margins sit at 10%.
Maintenance of resources, I dont care if its more cash efficient since thats irrelevant.
Are you kidding? How long do you think any given farm will survive if they only invest in things that pay dividends 100 years form now? It’s a balance.
I will stab folks who flood water.
You don’t even know that sometimes it’s more environmentally friendly, do you? That’s how ignorant you are.
Construction of equipment, the over reliance of shitty companies like john deer is pathetic.
And this is the farmer’s problem how? And it’s Deere.
Use of illegal labor has no excuse, its exploitation clean and simple.
Even when that labor is paid fairly? Even if not using it puts you out of business completely? Even if you ARE lobbying but getting nowwhere?
Waste of resources, shit shouldnt be left to rot.
Who says it is?
I mean basically it’s super easy for someone such as yourself who has never had their livelihood and everything they’ve worked for for many years on the line to have very strong opinions and spout off these simplicities. Frankly I find your attitude and much of what you write laughable.
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Even if they’re not they’re using too much water
Do you like to eat?
Maybe farm somewhere that rains?
That’s an incredibly stupid thing to say on so many levels.
No, just all of the ones that I’ve met.
All what, 2?
Oh no, farmers lose the indentured servants they’ve been threatening with deportation for years!
Fucking morons. Enjoy getting your hands dirty.
Lol.
Didn’t he have to bail farmers out last time due to his horrendous policies?
And farmers didn’t learn?
That’s pretty stupid? Is our food safe?
Too bad it’s mostly the cities here declaring themselves as sanctuary cities for the undocumented. Weird that Latinos make up such a huge majority in the central valley, too, but haters gonna hate and boy does rural CA love to hate.
If someone opens a farm in the city they will have all the workers!!!
But no land
Poor farmers they have to actually get their hands dirty. Poor guy.
FAFO
Reap what you sow.
Double entendre intended.
Fuckin’ dumb-dumbs. FAFO.
Wah, wah, waaaaaaaaaah….
Its just another fafo, nothing to see
