Series: Hispanic Farm Workers

(12/23/05) Five years ago, just a handful of dairy farmers in the North Country employed Hispanic workers. Today, some 50 farms use or have expressed a desire to hire workers from Mexico or Guatemala. The transition can be a bumpy one, for farmers and for the people they hire. There are the obvious language barriers, but also issues with food and housing and cultural norms. Earlier this month, a small group of farmers tried to bridge that gap in a big way. They took a trip to Mexico, to the very village where their employees come from, and met their families. David Sommerstein reports.

(12/23/05) Agricultural labor specialist Tom Maloney of Cornell University completed a survey of Hispanic workers on New York dairy farms earlier this year. Many of these workers came into the United States illegally. The survey found crossing the border, language barriers, and lack of freedom are the biggest challenges they face in their work. Their employers also cite language and immigration issues as problems. Maloney told David Sommerstein dairy farmers are increasingly turning to Hispanic labor because they struggle to find employees at a price they can pay.

(12/28/05) State Police in Oneida County arrested 10 illegal Mexican immigrants yesterday. Troopers responded to a vehicle that had slid off of Route 12. David Sommerstein spoke with Sergeant Kevin Maxwell. He said police from Utica who spoke Spanish helped find out the nine men and one woman were on their way to a farm in the Lowville area. He didn't know which farm. None of the Mexicans had identification. Maxwell says they were packed into a pick-up truck.

(04/03/06) Massive protests in California are providing a dramatic backdrop for the debate in Washington over America's immigration policy. The issue can seem distant in the North Country. But Jamaican apple pickers already use a legal guest worker program in the Champlain Valley. Illegal immigrants are becoming more common on area construction sites. And the number of Hispanic workers on dairy farms is growing fast. John Lincoln is president of the New York Farm Bureau. He employs two Guatemalan workers on his dairy farm near Canandaigua. David Sommerstein asked Lincoln what he sees in the immigration rallies in California.

(05/16/06) In the North Country, two groups are watching the immigration debate closely: dairy farmers and the Mexicans and Central Americans who work for them. There are no numbers on exactly how many Hispanics work on dairy farms in northern New York. One estimate says 300 work in Jefferson County alone. Based on national estimates, three-quarters of them entered the United States illegally. In the first of a two part series, David Sommerstein reports on the farmhands themselves. They live largely invisible lives, inextricably linked to the farmer who hired them.

(05/17/06) Listen to David Sommerstein's interview with Jim Schmidt, co-director of Farmworker Legal Services of New York, based in Rochester. He talks about the common abuses Hispanic migrant farmworkers face in New York.

(05/17/06) Over the last five years, the number of Mexican and Central Americans working on the North Country's dairy farms has risen dramatically. Industry leaders agree farms depend on reliable, plentiful Hispanic labor to survive. If national estimates are right, about three-quarters of these workers entered the United States illegally. Farmers are not required to prove their workers are legal. In fact, they can be sued for discrimination if they challenge them. Still, dairy farmers find themselves on the wrong side of immigration law as it now stands. David Sommerstein has part two of our series, Latinos on the Farm.

(05/29/06) The New York Farm Bureau is cautioning farmers to watch out for immigration officials. An e-mail alert reports of roadblocks and farm raids as federal agents step up their search for illegal workers. More than 50 Mexicans have been deported from western and central New York this month. David Sommerstein has the story.