Despite working 11-hour days on the farm because he is unable to find workers, Daniel Pacheco recently declined a man鈥檚 offer to work for him.
The man did not have legal papers to work in the U.S.
鈥淚 had to turn away a guy who came to me in tears because he needed a job so bad and I needed an irrigator,鈥 Pacheco said. 鈥淚t killed me to turn him away.鈥
But, the fourth-generation Marana farmer is unwilling to take the risk of hiring undocumented workers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 illegal and there are very stiff penalties,鈥 Pacheco said.
Efforts to find U.S. workers have been a struggle.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 just not enough reward in it,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always somebody else who wants to clean a toilet or make a bed or grow food.
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鈥淧eople don鈥檛 recognize the value of agriculture; they just expect the shelves to be stocked when they go to the grocery store.鈥
Pacheco鈥檚 story is hardly unique. Getting young people interested in farm work is a challenge.
In the agriculture industry, work weeks can be seven days a week, 11 hours a day.
Nationwide, there are two jobs available in agriculture for every new job seeker, according to industry experts and more than half of all farm workers are unauthorized to work in the U.S., the National Agricultural Worker Survey shows.
鈥淲e need a guest worker program that makes sure they pay their taxes, without fear of deportation, that doesn鈥檛 give them citizenship but recognizes that they鈥檙e here,鈥 Pacheco said. 鈥淲e need workers and we have them, but the system is so flawed we can鈥檛 put them to use.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like they鈥檙e taking jobs from Americans because we advertise but it鈥檚 done no good.鈥
GROWING INTEREST
In response to the need, the 蜜柚直播 Farm Bureau has launched a new program to help garner interest in farming, which is a $23.3 billion industry in the state.
The bureau spent the past year developing the 蜜柚直播 Agriculture Skills and Assessment Certificate, which launches this month.
鈥淭here are a few ways to explain the labor crisis,鈥 the bureau wrote in its February newsletter announcing the program. 鈥淔or one, today鈥檚 educational environment tends to look down on trade-related careers as 鈥榣esser鈥 options to college-degree required jobs.鈥
By highlighting the complementary technology involved in farm work, the hope is to pique student interest.
鈥淎n employee in a modern-day milking barn doesn鈥檛 just need to have a great work ethic, he or she also needs to know about automated milking technology, how to comply with complex food safety rules, and maybe even how to use robotic technology on a milking carousel,鈥 the bureau says. 鈥淎 tractor driver needs to know how to program a GPS unit to do the driving for them. And for a farm owner, it costs valuable time and money to train a brand-new employee to handle all the technology that鈥檚 become essential to making inputs more efficient and realize higher yields.鈥
The bureau is working with high schools around the state to implement the program.
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鈥楴OBLE鈥 CAUSE
Pacheco appreciates the bureau鈥檚 effort to help with the labor shortage, but fears the long, hot days and modest pay is a turnoff for many.
鈥淚t may get people interested but once they get out on the field to do the work, they usually don鈥檛 last,鈥 he said.
Pacheco Farm Management primarily grows cotton, but also durum wheat and maize. The farm currently has six employees to work the 1,200-acre farm.
The starting pay is $10.50 an hour and includes benefits. A foreman can make up to $25.40 an hour, Pacheco said.
His passion for the profession hasn鈥檛 waned.
鈥淚 grew up this way and I love the challenges,鈥 Pacheco said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of pride and doing something that feels noble 鈥 to feed people.鈥
Automation can help with some tasks, but not all.
A cotton picker, which can roll and package cotton, costs up to $700,000.
鈥淚rrigation and nutrient management requires feet on the ground and you can鈥檛 do that with robots,鈥 Pacheco said. 鈥淣ot yet.鈥
