State farmers lobby for visa changes

WASHINGTON — With cherry and apple harvest seasons looming, the state's farm owners need fruit pickers. They came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to recruit them.

"We need workers very soon," said Jon Wyss of Gebbers Farms in Brewster, Okanogan County, adding "we are going to our delegation to ask their help before it's too late and the crops rot. For growers, time is money."

Wyss and his wife, Melanie, a fifth-generation farm owner, were among 17 farmers and agriculture representatives from the state who visited the Hill to lobby for changes to the U.S. guest-worker visa program.

They say the existing law doesn't provide the flexibility needed to recruit enough seasonal agriculture workers, and they want Congress to pass legislation to overhaul the guest-worker program.

"This is the most important issue facing agriculture, bar none," said Richard Thomason of the Washington Apple Commission.

Many Washington farmers rely on immigrant labor.

Last August, the state joined the Washington Growers League in a campaign to recruit local workers in anticipation that too few guest workers would be available for the apple harvest.

Valoria Loveland, director of the state Department of Agriculture, said that even after an extensive advertising campaign, only 40 people showed up to fill the 1,700 potential spots.

"Local people who want to work are already employed, or are not interested in doing the seasonal and physically demanding work that characterizes our specialty crop production," Loveland said in a letter this week to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The guest-worker legislation, called the AgJOBS bill, is controversial because it also would establish a path to legalize some undocumented workers already in the country.

The current guest-worker program is a mess, growers across the nation say.

Farmers need at least 60 days to apply for the required permits. Guest workers aren't allowed to perform related but different jobs. That means a picker can't pack the fruits and vegetables and can't thin the crops between harvests.

Each fruit or vegetable requires a separate application, and the visas are not transportable between states. And if a picking season lasts longer than expected, farmers must apply for an extension.

"AgJOBS would streamline this process and speed it up," said Bruce Grim of the Washington Apple Growers Marketing Association in Wenatchee.

Most of Washington's congressional delegation backs the legislation in concept. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both Democrats, are co-sponsors of the Senate version of the bill. In the House, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Lake Stevens, is one of 38 co-sponsors.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, is being lobbied by several growers who own 100-acre farms in the eastern part of the state. Grim said those farms could be out of business in the next few years if the supply of temporary workers slows because of border-security and immigration issues.

Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, has said he would vote for the AgJOBS bill if it comes to the floor. But his spokeswoman, Jessica Gleason, said Hastings does not believe the legislation is the only possible solution.

Meanwhile, Washington growers are watching California, where the cherry season has just begun.

"California will be the bellwether for us," Wyss said. "If they don't have enough workers, that probably means we won't when our season starts in a couple weeks."

Washington state expects a record cherry crop of more than 140,000 tons.

Alicia Mundy: 202-662-7457 or amundy@seattletimes.com