dairy farmers in the news

[Guest guest]

I found this article interesting, written in human-interest style, telling us

of ways the dairy industry seeks to " bridge " the cultural and economic divide

between American business and workers from outside the USA. The article covers

what may be something larger happening in this period of homeland security. It

speaks of entrepreneurial action (the cross-border program) and American " can-

do " culture in difficult times. Does the effort bring improvement with it?

“U.S. Farmers Trace Mexican Workers' Lives” By Cara - The Associated

Press, January 16, 2006 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2006/01/16/AR2006011600090.html

Castorland, NY (AP) -- Kerrie Baker's two Mexican employees live above her

dining room. They don't speak English and she knows about 30 words of Spanish,

but they get by with smiles and the occasional visiting interpreter to the

remote, upstate New York dairy farm.

So when Baker said she was leaving for Mexico last month, the men didn't quite

believe her. Then she returned with photos of their mountain village, and even

of one man's startled mother. When the woman realized who Baker was, she

started crying and said, 'Take care of my baby.'

Baker and other farmers aren't waiting for Congress to take up immigration

reform this month - they're crossing the border to understand the issue by

visiting the far-flung homes of their employees.

But they don't go just for charity, says Wisconsin dairy farmer Rosenow.

Instead, the trips are an investment in a new kind of worker they hope won't

disappear.

Hispanics make up about 40 percent of all U.S. agricultural employees based on

2004 census figures, the Pew Hispanic Center said.

But the interest comes from the newest farmers hiring Mexicans, the dairy

farmers along America's northern edge. A Cornell University survey said 72

percent of the largest farms in New York, the third largest dairy-producing

state, hired their first Hispanic employee since 2000.

Overwhelmingly, the farmers said their biggest problem was in understanding

their new workers, with 96 percent noting the language barrier. More than half

also mentioned cultural concerns.

A new Cornell project and a Wisconsin-based nonprofit program called Puentes,

or Bridges, cater to dairy farmers, though similar cross-border programs for

farmers or agricultural leaders exist in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

Bruce Goldstein of the Washington-based Farmworker Justice Fund says the visits

are fine but the real test is whether wages and working conditions improve. The

Cornell survey said the average Hispanic dairy worker gets $7.51 an hour.

Cornell took its first group of farmers across the border last month, bouncing

in vans an hour past the paved road to a central Mexican village.

'Down there, they're grinding out a living the way we used to farm in this

country 70 or 80 years ago,' said Maloney, the Cornell extension

associate who arranged the trip. 'Believe me, once you go and see it, you

understand why people travel 3,000 miles for a job.'

Baker returned to her farm on just west of the Adirondacks with stories of

Mexican cows producing just eight pounds of milk a day, compared to more than

70 pounds from her own. When she asked local students how many had relatives in

the U.S., more than half raised their hands.

'That was the best $900 I could have spent for my dairy farm,' Baker said.

Inspired, she'll start a new language course called Dairyman's Spanish in the

spring.

Rosenow, of Waumandee, Wisconsin, said he's helped place Mexicans on dozens of

farms after the first one he hired worked 54 days straight, 'with no

complaint.'

Rosenow has crossed the border three times with Puentes. He remembers visiting

a former employee who had used his U.S. earnings to build a bakery. 'I didn't

have a clue,' Rosenow said. 'I thought he'd want to live here (in America)

someday.'

Now Rosenow asks his workers what they need to learn. He's taught a business

course and a driving class, and his farm set up a banking system where workers'

families in Mexico can access the money with ATM cards.

'Anything I can do to make things better for my employees will make this

business run better,' said Rosenow, who now works about 70 hours a week instead

of 90 or 95.

And after explaining to workers how higher-quality milk gets a better price,

his farm makes $1,200 to $2,000 more a month. The money goes for bonuses on top

of workers' $375 weekly salaries.

At Baker's house, 22-year-old Monfil Arcos and 27-year-old Arcos

prepare for the midday milking of more than 300 cows. says he's

surprised but happy 'la patrona' made the journey.

Downstairs, the men look through Baker's photos of Mexico. After a few minutes,

she says, 'Tell them I want to give them a bonus for Christmas. I've never done

that before. Tell them it's because they're special.'

She waits for the translation and, soon enough, the smiles.