06-10-2017, 03:20 AM
You are right about the workers paying their way to where work is, either thru coyote, or by buying their own ticket and work visa. I know this from my Ohana farming 1000 acres of wheat and almonds, and a very good friend who has about 5000 acres in peaches, cherries and corn. Both use legit immigrants and make a profit only due to their size. Just to buy a bare root peach tree runs them around 75.00 each, and it takes 2 to three years to produce with the hybrid they use. Not your HD home garden variety by any means.
In other observations, I have seen many farms under 20 acres struggle, or go broke using the same farming practices with labor, fuel costs and maintenence on the equipment, etc. due to what the "middle man" will pay them so he gets a profit when he sells to the market. This goes for commercial fishing as well.
The 5000 acre farm I mentioned earlier is currently in process of re planting the orchards to accept modern harvesting equipment to bring their profit margin up to avoid home developers from taking over the land and make their venture profitable as migrant workers have been fading off the last few years, and he anticipates even tougher years to follow.
Going back to the small farm, how much does it cost them to grow his coffee, harvest, make equipment payments, pay a roaster to cook his beans, purchase packaging, pay labor, and find a middle man who will pay a fair price for his product? There is a reason the IRS explains you have to file a business plan, and one has to show a profit at least once every seven years. That is why they look at the books in an audit, as most small farms started for the "write off" to support their lavish home, as quite a few "new farmers" do.
I agree in the comment of a work/gov assistance program in that if you prove you work 20 hours at minimum wage a week the guv matches pay for the other 20 missing hours o give a basic standard of living. No work, the guv gives you enough to eat and nothing more. Full disability, whether mental or physical, gets full benefits from the guv. That itself, I believe will balance the budget and give all a bit more quality of life.
Community begins with Aloha
In other observations, I have seen many farms under 20 acres struggle, or go broke using the same farming practices with labor, fuel costs and maintenence on the equipment, etc. due to what the "middle man" will pay them so he gets a profit when he sells to the market. This goes for commercial fishing as well.
The 5000 acre farm I mentioned earlier is currently in process of re planting the orchards to accept modern harvesting equipment to bring their profit margin up to avoid home developers from taking over the land and make their venture profitable as migrant workers have been fading off the last few years, and he anticipates even tougher years to follow.
Going back to the small farm, how much does it cost them to grow his coffee, harvest, make equipment payments, pay a roaster to cook his beans, purchase packaging, pay labor, and find a middle man who will pay a fair price for his product? There is a reason the IRS explains you have to file a business plan, and one has to show a profit at least once every seven years. That is why they look at the books in an audit, as most small farms started for the "write off" to support their lavish home, as quite a few "new farmers" do.
I agree in the comment of a work/gov assistance program in that if you prove you work 20 hours at minimum wage a week the guv matches pay for the other 20 missing hours o give a basic standard of living. No work, the guv gives you enough to eat and nothing more. Full disability, whether mental or physical, gets full benefits from the guv. That itself, I believe will balance the budget and give all a bit more quality of life.
Community begins with Aloha