P.O. Box 948153
Maitland, FL 32794
www.ffva.com

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ray Gilmer or Barbara Wunder 321-214-5200

 

PLENTY OF WORK ON FLORIDA FARMS

GROWERS COMPETING FOR WORKERS WITH URBAN RELIEF EFFORTS

Maitland, Fla. (November 1, 2005) - Hurricane Wilma may have delivered a punch to Florida agriculture, but it's not a knockout punch. Farms and groves from Immokalee to Fort Pierce to Homestead are cleaning up and preparing to move ahead - and they need good workers to get the job done.

Although it seems logical that when the winds come, the work leaves, that's not the case. Work is still there, but workers have been lured elsewhere.

"We are competing for labor with hurricane cleanup and relief efforts in urban areas of South Florida. They also have a dire need for workers," said Ray Gilmer, FFVA's director of public affairs.

"It's critical that we have the manpower to get back into production," said Jay Taylor, president of tomato growers Taylor & Fulton, Inc. of Palmetto. "We need people for cleanup and replanting now if we are to make our market window. Every day counts," he said.

Many of the region's farmworkers have taken work in new construction projects in Hurricane Katrina's path in spite of there being agricultural jobs that offer a steady, dependable income in South and Southwest Florida. The industry continues to count on a dedicated workforce to bounce back from Wilma and deliver the fruit, vegetables, landscape plants and other commodities the rest of the country depends on during the winter months.

"It's not unusual in these kinds of situations that we experience a labor shortage," said Walter Kates, FFVA director, Labor Division. "The workers relocate because they think there's no work. In truth, the work is there. Someone has to help with cleanup, the salvaging of the crop, and other jobs," Kates said.

Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association is an agricultural trade organization representing Florida's producers of fruits, vegetables and other crops.

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