Migrants keep agriculture running

PHOTO SUBMITTED Shirley Schreiner (from left), Allan Schreiner, Mark Schreiner and Mike Schreiner take a break from farming to take a pose next to a tractor Saturday afternoon. The Schreiner family owns a farm in Republic. Irvin Seneca County farmers and other local residents are aware of federal policy under the Donald Trump administration, but their focus is on the daily grind. According to PolitiFact, agriculture contributed $105 billion to Ohio's total economic output of $898.7 billion in 2010, an 11.7 percent share. Republic farmer Mike Schreiner, who has worked on his family farm for about 20 years, said agriculture is a big deal in Seneca County. "We've got to keep doing what we do," he said. "The rewards are little financially, but the rewards are a lot more in the pride and doing what you do and loving what you do. Our farm has been in our family since the late 1800s, that's what's important to us." Filling the need Jack Irvin, senior director for state and national policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, said labor is a vital part of agricultural work in Seneca County and across the country. He said finding workers who are qualified can be a challenge and he said some farmers face the challenge by hiring migrant laborers. "Migrant programs have been a big part of helping to fill the need," he said. Irvin said one program used to legally employ immigrant laborers is the H-2A program. He said the program offers a temporary visa meant to be used for the agricultural community, which can last up to three years. "If you need seasonal workers to get you through apple-picking time, you could use this program," he said. "It is not a permanent citizenship program, it's for seasonal work." Schreiner said his operation handles labor within the family, but he said he thinks using migrant laborers is a good opportunity for some farms. "As long as the workers are legal, I think it's a good opportunity," he said. "Farming is a lot of work. As the owners get older and as the farmers expand their operation, they do need to hire help. I think it's a good opportunity to get the job done faster, as long as the workers are legal." A 2012 Latino Community Report for the Ohio General Assembly administered by Ohio 96th District Rep. Al Landis states not all migrant workers are in the country under the H-2A program. Some are here under other visas and others are undocumented. "H-2A agricultural workers are residents of foreign countries — frequently Mexico — that have temporary work visas that coincide with harvest seasons. Because these workers are covered by U.S. wage laws and labor standards, they are paid a much higher wage than their migrant worker counterparts," the report states. According to the National Center for Farmworker Health, more than 3 million migrant and seasonal farmworkers are estimated to be in the United States. Not all of the workers are in the nation legally. The 2012 report states upward of 70 percent of the agricultural labor pool in Ohio is in the country illegally, a figure similar to the national average at that time. The report also states Seneca County was ranked eighth in the state with 470 migrant laborers. The laborers in the county typically work from March to November and the crops they work with primarily are tomatoes, pickles, bell peppers, jalapenos, cabbage and pumpkins. Sandusky County had the largest number of migrant laborers in the state, with 1,915. Not a perfect program Irvin said he believes the H-2A program is here to stay under the Trump administration, although it isn't a perfect program. "I have not heard discussions on going away from H-2A," he said. "Certainly, as an organization, we strongly support having a secure border as well. I don't think they're mutually exclusive by any means. I think we can have a secure border and a strong defense while still having a strong, vibrant immigration policy that also meets the needs of our agricultural community." The 2012 report states agricultural jobs filled by migrant laborers traditionally have not been sought by Ohio citizens, even in times of high unemployment. It also states the jobs typically pay minimum wage and offer few, if any, benefits. Schreiner, who occasionally uses vacation days from his full-time job to do work that needs to be done on the farm, said farming is hard work and it could be difficult for farmers to find Americans willing to do the job. "There's a lot of people that couldn't handle the work that goes with the farm," he said. "(Farmers) in the Fremont and Willard area put out a lot of vegetables and produce. Those are a lot more tedious crop to put out and take care of. There's a lot of labor involved, so I understand the need for workers." Irvin said farmers employ migrant laborers for several reasons. "When we talk agriculture, there is no doubt it's hard work," he said. "When you're working and depending on Mother Nature, she doesn't necessarily work 9-5. When your crop needs to be harvested, it's got to be done. The clock doesn't always work in your favor." Irvin said he hopes the H-2A system can become more efficient. "It's not a very efficient system; it's difficult to work with," he said. "If you have your crop coming in a certain window, there's not a lot of flexibility. (Crops) need to be picked when the time is right, not necessarily when all the program hoops are met." Irvin said a quicker and more efficient system would be beneficial to farmers who use migrant workers. "When a farmer needs their labor, they need it now, not in a few months," he said. "There's certainly been a lot of concerns of the inefficiency of visa programs and immigration policy. We've been in discussion for a long time and it's a discussion we'll continue to carry forward." Education for migrant children The education field also may be affected by changes to immigration policy. Steve Anway, Old Fort Local School District superintendent, said his district has a summer migrant program provided through the Ohio Department of Education. "The purpose of the program is to assist states' efforts to support high-quality and comprehensive educational programs for migratory children," he said. Anway said the program attempts to reduce educational disruptions and other problems that result from repeated moves for the children of migrant workers. "The program is to ensure that migratory children have the opportunity to meet the same challenging state content standards and student performance standards that all children are expected to meet," he said. Anway said children of migrant workers face difficult challenges, including dealing with moving to several schools during the school year, educational disruption, cultural and language barriers, social isolation and health-related problems. He said these challenges make it more difficult for children to do well in school. "The goal is to prepare such children to make a successful transition to post-secondary education or employment," he said. The program runs for eight weeks through the summer and Anway said the number of students varies from year to year. Old Fort School provides the staff for the program, who are trained by the Ohio Migrant Education Center in Fremont. According to an article published in The Advertiser-Tribune, Migrant Program Director Jeff Lynch said April 10 that this year's program is set, but any federal funding for the program moving forward could be in jeopardy. Planning for the future Schreiner said larger farming operations would benefit from an easier process in hiring migrant laborers. He said his great-grandfather bought the 80-acre family farm in Republic in 1888 for $4,000. Schreiner, his dad and his brother work countless hours each year to keep their farm, which harvests corn, soybeans and wheat, running. Schreiner said small-scale farmers such as his family are a "dying breed" because of the significant cost and time associated with the craft. He said he also works a full-time job with the Seneca County Engineer's Office during the week, and when he's not working, he's typically doing work on the farm. "Farming takes a lot of work," he said. "The younger farmers have to have a full-time job and then they have to farm. Back 50 years ago, you could get 200-300 acres and make a living. Now that scale is much, much higher. That's why it's a dying breed, it's really time-consuming." Schreiner said technology has changed the craft for the better. "Even from when I first started, you've got tractors with auto steer and with GPS," he said. "Advances in technology help to get the crop in the ground faster and produce a better crop." Schreiner mentioned using a smartphone to check weather forecasts being a helpful advance in technology. "Advancements in technology, even on a small scale, help out a lot," he said. Irvin said every farm has different needs and all would be affected in different ways by potential policy changes, but he thinks it would be bad to abandon the H-2A program because migrant laborers are important to the success of some farms. "It certainly would become a point where it would be very difficult to do business for a lot of farmers," he said. "Technology has certainly advanced and mechanized certain activities over the decades, but you still need people to get out there and do some of the work. If you don't have access to that and you don't have people to do the work, you're left with no other options than to quit farming." Irvin admitted that discussions on immigration reform occur at a "very high level" and that he is unsure of what future policy changes could mean for the farming community.