Immigration Rules Leave Apples Rotting on the Trees
Attempting to actually comply with government regulations makes it impossible to make money from orchards
The apple market is booming in Washington State, as farmers have seen an increase of 50 percent of fruit shipped to keep up with skyrocketing demand. As other apple-producing regions of the country struggle with meager harvests following poor weather, this year's harvest should be especially profitable – if Washington farmers can find the workers they need.
That is a big if. The overwhelmingly Hispanic workforce for the apple harvest already has 13,000 more participants this year than in 2011, but it's not enough to satisfy the increased demand. "I'm down 40 percent from the labor I need," said Steve Nunley, manager of a 3,000-acre apple orchard near Wapato, Wash.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?