Missing migrants put area farms in tight spot (Wash. State) [View All]

[kskiska]

WOODLAND --- A third of Jerry Dobbins' 155-acre strawberry crop rotted on the vine this year. His blueberry bushes are so heavy with fruit that the branches are hanging near the ground.

There is no one to pick them.

Dobbins Farm in Woodland is one of many farms across the state facing a huge labor shortage this growing season, as tighter security along the U.S.-Mexico border has crimped the supply of Latino migrant farm workers.

The strawberry harvest, one of the hardest fruits to pick because of it's low proximity to the ground, has already come and gone at Dobbins' farm, the largest of its kind in Southwest Washington. Now Dobbins is worried that his other crops will suffer a similar fate.

(snip)

"I personally can tell you, where I need 300 workers a day, I haven't had one Caucasian person knock on my door and say, 'I want to work for you.' I couldn't do this without the Hispanic people," Thoeny said. "Fifteen years ago we would have a steady stream of young people coming to us to ask for a job. This year, we didn't have one Caucasian person come to us," added Dobbins.

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http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/07/09/top_story/news01.txt