Farmers Crossing The Border - To Mexico

Is The Land Of Plenty Shifting South? Call It Reverse Immigration

(CBS)  The Mexican state of Guanajuato has fertile land and a mild climate. For years, however, poverty there has led many north to find work on farms in the United States.

But now there is movement across the border the other way, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. Steve Scaroni is an American farmer who has moved to Mexico.

"It's a very sad situation that, you know, at 50 years old, I've had to come down here in a sense, start over, to be able to complete my American dream," Scaroni said.

Scaroni now divides his time between Mexico and big farms he still runs in United States. He says he was forced to start moving to Mexico because an immigration crackdown made it increasingly difficult to get workers in Arizona and California.

"We just can't get enough labor, every day, on a consistent basis to meet our production demands," he said.

The Western Growers Association says farmers in Arizona and California often need up to 30 percent more workers than they are able to hire.

So two years ago Scaroni started moving his farms to where the workers are. He now has 2,000 acres in Mexico with 500 employees.

He even runs his own packing plant handling more than two million pounds of lettuce a week for shipment to major food processors in the United States.

The lettuce processed and packed today will be across the U.S. border by tomorrow morning. With the food crossing the border, the workers don't have to - as American companies provide jobs in Mexico.

Scaroni got a big welcome from the state's secretary of agriculture, who says providing opportunity here means people won't die trying to cross the border.

Immigration reform that would have made it easier for farmworkers to enter the United States failed in Congress last year. One of its sponsors, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says worker shortages are threatening American agriculture.

Feinstein said: "Farmers will soon decide they'd rather do it in Mexico."

Already American farmers have moved more than 46,000 acres of production to Mexico.

While that's not much compared to 27 million acres cultivated in California alone, farmers who make the move believe they're at the leading edge of agriculture's future.

"I just kinda wanna get a feel for how far off harvest this is," Scaroni said.

Scaroni says unless the law soon makes it much easier to get farm workers across the border, his land of opportunity is Mexico.

[darnedsocks]

Well, here we go again....there is nothing like a GOOD DOSE OF HEPATITIS from veggies grown in Mexico; where there are little or no standards or regulation on cleanliness!

Remember when all those school kids in San Diego got hepatitis from the strawberries in their school lunch that came from Mexico?! Yuck!

[darnedsocks]

P.S. Do you know where this type of hepatitis comes from? POOP! Apparently, workers poop right there in the fields.

[battleroaron]

well maybe mr. scaroni wouldn''t have a problem finding employees in the U.S. if he paid a decent and competetive wage, instead of pennies an hour to people who have no other option but to do it or starve. wage increases have to start somewhere and big corporations need to profit less for the good of the whole."Scaroni now divides his time between Mexico and big farms he still runs in United States." he obviously isn''t a small business owner, i''m sure he could buy less gravy so others can buy some bologna.

[Meg003]

Force these big farmers to pay tariffs so that the cost of the Mexican lettuce meets the price of lettuce grown in the U.S. paying minimum wages or higher. Soon, the huge farms would close. Local growers would resume the production that ceased when huge western farms began using illegal alien labor and forcing small farmers out of business.

[underdogus]

Remember when all those school kids in San Diego got hepatitis from the strawberries in their school lunch that came from Mexico?! Yuck!

Posted by darnedsocks ..starve b.astard he,he,he,

[underdogus]

HA,ha VIVA MEXICO!!! THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY,seal the *** border!!! a gal of gas in Mexico is 1.45$ he,he,love it!!!

[underdogus]

opps is 2.45$ still cheap!

[skeezix06]

They don''t have the same food safety standards and laws that we have and it continues to show with every food recall. When I pick up a container I look to see if it says made or grown in the US or names a state. If it says China, Indonesia, Mexico, etc. "Distributed by" and all the other euphemisms is no longer good enough. I put it back and either don''t buy that particular item at all or keep looking till I find something grown here.

I''m tired of toys loaded with lead, food with antifreeze or whatever it was that they were using and lettuce that suddenly gives me diarrhea. I''ve had it with them all.

[naucoming4u]

I''''m tired of toys loaded with lead, food with antifreeze or whatever it was that they were using and lettuce that suddenly gives me diarrhea. I''''ve had it with them all.

Posted by skeezix06 at 08:00 PM : Apr 09, 2008
............

Time to go back to growing vegetables in our own back yards!

As for the toys... well... that''s a whole other issue.

[ryindy]

skeezix06
I''m certainly with you on that.

[yellowbird25]

this is NOT the story a Mexican man with unite said; it used to be Mexico had article 25 which prevented anyone other than citizens owning land; Clinton went there during Pres (see NAU) & suddenly Mexico flooded with cheaper corn than people could grow & sell so they were forced off their lands (Gotta love Corp America!) & "suddenly" Corp''s were there growing the veggies & since Mexico''s chief commodity is agriculture well isn''t it just amazing how corn is suddenly over $6 & wanted & needed everywhere! Coincidence huh! This is the reason so many "ag workers" are in the USA; interestingly they are talking civil war in Mexico over this; want Clintons & Bush out of office & possible civil war here; & says blame the cause not the immigrants; it''s the USA Government folks

[ryindy]

Time to go back to growing vegetables in our own back yards!

As for the toys... well... that''''s a whole other issue. -- Posted by NAUcoming4U

Been chasing rabbits away from my garden veggies for a couple of years now.

Who in their right mind would want to by a tomato or head of lettuce from Mexico any way? Their fields are irrigated with unsafe waters...

[ryindy]

this is NOT the story a Mexican man with unite said; - - Posted by yellowbird25

And you expect anyone here to believe what a Latino Union chief says? ROTFLMAO !!!

[ryindy]

Shout HOORAY!! Shout HOORAY!!! Shout HOORAY!!!!

Let those cheap *** corporate farmers take their illegals and go back to Mexico!
We''re tired of paying for illegals welfare and education for their kids .

[raised4952]

The best thing that can come from this is now we have more room to grow corn so that we can be less dependent on foriegn contries for oil

[cyberus-2009]

And if NAFTA goes into the dumpster these people will be the first to cry when imports start to get taxed again, even though they bolted across the border to avoid paying US wages and taxes.

[sumarongi]

Great, the very farmers who promulgated the illegal workers problem are now complaining they can''t get cheap labor so they''ll move south. Talking about greedy suckers, these guys take the cake. If they would have paid a livable wage in the first place they would have enough workers here in the states.
But no, that would mean a little less money in their bank accounts. That''s one of the basic faults with employment in this country. Owners and investors want the worker to take it on the chin, to support extravagant lifestyles. I don''t have anything against a man making a profit, it''s the market environment. I do have a problem with those who take advantage of the people who produce the goods or harvest the crops by keeping them in poverty to do it.

[timdgrim]

Do you know how Mexico fertilizes their vegetables?
Let''s just say it''s the number 2 method. Their own number 2. Seriously!
Now U. S. corporate farmers are number 2ing on us.

[mygirlboo]

I don''t feel one bit sorry for this big grower and all like him who are perfectly willing to turn this beautiful country into a low-wage third world hellhole--all to line their own pockets. Shame on these un-Americans. Strip them and their families of their citizenships and get them out. Good riddance.

[idahomom2]

filthy water..raw sewage full of heavy metals and workers who aren''t the cleanest in the world.....you thought e-coli outbreaks were common before.......just wait!

And funny how mexican farmers say they have to come here illegally because of NAFTA and yet our farmers can go down there and be just fine......another myth blown out of the water!!

i hope all corp. farmers move down there......no one with any sense will eat their foods and they will go out of business, but not before taking their EXPENSIVE LABOR with them.........LMAO!!

[usabornlady]

The farmers who are moving their operations to Mexico... GOOD FOR YOU!! Congratulations! And good for you for helping out the poor Mexicans who needed jobs and you are furnishing them with that.However, NOW you are complaining that you have a LEGAL way to hire the Mexicans! Sumarongi I agree with you, and you can bet those farmers who take their operations to Mexico won''t be 1- giving up their American citizenship 2- or their Social security 3- or making their children Mexican citizens if they are born there! They will want the benefits our country has and might even utilize dual citizenship for them and that would make them no better than the illegals!

[yongamerica]

Here is how free trade is supposed to be. by bringing the jobs to the people who would otherwise break federal laws to work. This man laments in his own laziness.

[SiouxCitizen]

Sorry to hear that you''ve taken another step in endangering the quality of our food suply, Steve.
We can hope that your compnay label is clear so we know what not to purchase for our family''s table.

[wango2007-2009]

Sure, there are food safety issues here, but overall, I like this type of solving-problem. Good way to keep poor, uneducated, unskilled illegal people out of the country and that will lessen the burden of education and health care.

At the same time, it gives opportunity to educated, skilled people from the rest of the world, who speak English, to come to the US and make a real contribution to our country.

I say this is win-win.

[ontheleft]

"We just can''t get enough labor, every day, on a consistent basis to meet our production demands," he said.

There is no such thing as a shortage of labor. If the wage is high enough, employers will have willing and able workers. This applies not just to farm workers, but any group of workers, no matter how "scarce" they may be.

The problem with many employers is that they love the "free market" so long as they don''t have to obey it when it comes to labor.

[mac4440]

People think this is terrible, but yet everyone shops around to find the lowest prices. You can''t have cheap food and pay high wages. How many of you people are willing to pay the price for food that it would take to pay union wages to the workers?

[republic1776]

Your already paying it in hidden costs of crime, medical, welfare, schooling, paying for babies.
Kick out the illeagles. Take the billions of dollars we save and use it for a short term, while seeking a solution, Pay American''s

[xraytwonine]

yes, we will stave unless we eat chemically engineered ****** "American" fastfood.....good farmland is sold to real estate developers to build even more ****** house in ****** locations.... this is not the worst nation in the world, but its not the best either, but like all nations, there''s a time of its arrival and a time for its departure.

[redpossum]

The mantra for illegals is,''there''s no work in Mexico'',yet Americans can start farms there? Why don''t Mexicans do the same? No OSHA/EPA/labor laws to hamper them.Perhaps because there are no food stamps/Medicaid/free school lunches there?

[mufuart]

With the baby boomers retiring in droves, I think we will see tens of thousands of baby boomers moving to Mexico; the Mexicans will go north and we will go south and exchange countries--and maybe in the long term the two countries will become so economically equal that we can join the two countries into one huge country. Hablas espanol?

[gringolicker]

LETS INVADE LAND OF THE ********!!

WE CAN STOP THEM BETTER AT PANAMA, AND INVADE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THERE!

WAGONS HOE! CHOP LIMBS, AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER!

[mufuart]

right-on, Gringolicker... Weapons of mass destruction? Don''t their burritos look like IEDs and their tamales like handgrenades? Of course they do. So, it''s time to INVADE!!!!! and overthrow allllll those Jose''s before they invade us ... oh, wait a minute, they''ve already invaded...

[janintx1]

I lived in Chapala, state of Jalisco, MX for 6 mo. and was never healthier in my life! Fabulous fruits and veggies for 1/4 of what we pay here. I also lived on the Pacific Coast, in twin fishing villages, Melaque/Barra de Navidad for several months in 2006. Again, I was healthier there than in the US. We drank bottled water, delivered weekly for 80 cents ea.
I know most people here wash their fruits & veggies when brought home from the mkt. In Mexico, we used a drop of a special wash, but there were times I was in a hurry & forgot. And I lived to tell the tale!
When will people here ever realize that what they read ain''t necessarily so? How quickly we forget about the e-coli in Salinas Valley spinach here in the good ole USA, meat recalls, etc., etc.
There is good life in OTHER countries, you might want to think about it. It''s a big, wonderful world out there.

[wlmrtpatriot]

I don''t believe I know any baby boomers, nor other age groups who desire to relocate to mexico.
We need to let go of the illegals.
Most don''t have drivers licenses, some don''t have i.d.s of anykind. No healthcare, etc. Uninsured vehicles, dui offenses. etc.

[kansas1946]

This sounds like a win/win to me. It is good for America and it is good for Mexico. Maybe if some of the big farmers start buying farms down there and give people jobs, they will stay home, spend their money in Mexico, and learn how to run a farm. The reason the farmers up here are compaining is because it is getting tough to exploit illegals. I saw big farms where little kids were working ten hours in fields recently sprayed with incecticides. Since these people are invisible, they aren''t protected by child labor laws, etc.

[Hybdiesel]

So some of you folks get a little diarrhea eating the lettuce. Just get a cork and enjoy the cheap stuff. Walmart will be the first in line to buy.

[bookout2]

George Bush should be hung by his balls.

[rudy654-2009]

Many people who scream about the illegals, also claim that if farmers paid better for the crops then more Americans would be willing to do the back-breaking seasonal work. Then they go to Wal-Mart for the cheaper produce. As if.

[janintx1]

to wimrtpatriot: FYI there is a HUGE number of Americans (ages 50+)who began relocating to the Chapala/Ajijic area about 25 years ago. They have a very active VFW post in Chapala. There are an estimated 600,000 Americans living in Mexico!!!
Where do you live? Just curious.

[smartr_n_u]

THE FOLLOWING IMMIGRATION LAWS ARE PROPOSED...

1 There will be no special bilingual programs in the schools.

2. All ballots will be in this nation''s language.

3.. All government business will be conducted in our language.

4. Non-residents will NOT have the right to vote no matter how long they are here.

5. Non-citizens will NEVER be able to hold political office.

6. Foreigners will not be a burden to the taxpayers. No welfare, no food stamps, no health care, or other government assistance programs. Any burden will be deported.

7. Foreigners can invest in this country, but it must be an amount at least equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage.

8. If foreigners come here and buy land... options will be restricted. Certain parcels including waterfront property are reserved for citizens naturally born into this country.

9. Foreigners may have no protests; no demonstrations, no waving of a foreign flag, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies. These will lead to deportation.

10. If you do come to this country illegally, you will be actively hunted &, when caught, sent to jail until your deportation can be arranged. All assets will be taken from you..

Harsh, you say?.......

The above laws are current immigration laws of MEXICO
SO..........what''s our problem???????

[mediapreachr]

This is just a preview for what''s coming.
One day we''ll take over this Third world,sorry a** country and incorporate it into good old USA-because there''s no other way.

[idahomom2]

ANYONE READ THE WASHINGTON TIMES TODAY?

HERE''S A QUOTE....

April 9, 2008

"More than 37 million immigrants in the United States, both legal and illegal, cost the federal government more than $346 billion last year, twice as much as the nation''s fiscal deficit, according to a report released yesterday.



"This is another nail in the coffin of economic growth," said Edwin Rubenstein, director of research and president of ESR Research, which released the report. "There is absolutely no reason immigration policy shouldn''t be discussed on its economic merits."



Mr. Rubenstein, a former director of research at the Hudson Institute, a nonpartisan policy research organization, said U.S. taxpayers paid more than $9,000 for each immigrant in the country, a third of whom are believed to be in the U.S. illegally."

[nottellin1]

Is this supposed to scare us? Be serious! Im supposed to be worried that my lettce, a crop needing lost of water and must be handpicked? I say good riddince, we just repurpose the land for corn, that is harvested by machine. Seems like a no brainer to me. Dont let the door hit you the way out.

[tucano2]

Take your farming expertise, machinery, livestock, and all the Illegal Aliens with you.

[zorlacskates]

lettuce have lettuce.

[rudy654-2009]

I don''''t eat that much salad anyway. The only green I''''m concerned about is what''''s coming out of taxpayers pockets to cover the medical expenses and other programs given to illegals at little or no cost, except to the taxpayers. Posted by gameoverdems at 02:01 AM

GOOD! Stay away from fruits and vegetables! You don''t need no stinkin antioxidants. You stick to whatever diet that will keep you loaded with saturated fat and looking ugly. We need less people like you on this planet anyway.

What a maroon.

[rudy654-2009]

Take your farming expertise, machinery, livestock, and all the Illegal Aliens with you.
Posted by tucanofulano at 02:00 AM

I just don''t see the justice in you staying and them leaving. You''re so...detestable.

[billtlaw1]

ignorance is bliss general trite statements that hispanics burden the United States is a feel good statement with no basis in fact a tremendous amount of productivity and contribution to social security aare made by these workers without being able to collect on the same without their contribution Phoenix and Los Angeles would not have been built and Law vegas would still be a sleeply little town Our Hispanic Workers work 12 to 14 hours a day for minimal wages and sent it home to their families they have money taken out for taxes and social secuerity but will nver be able to collect the same.. I wonder how hard those who critisize oour southern neighbors work and how much they contribute being born in America dosen''t automatically make you an American An American has to earn his stripes...

[rudy654-2009]

Dont let the door hit you the way out.
Posted by nottellin1 at 01:46 AM

Oh, can''t they take you with them? You would make a nice field hand.

[rudy654-2009]

Posted by BILLTLAW at 02:11 AM

Most of them are suffering from hypertension as they sit in front of a computer day and night doing about absolutely nothing to contribute to this country.