<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ventura County, CA-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">2.28.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Strawberry farmers in eastern Hillsborough County are facing a labor shortage.<img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/fl_labor_feb_2013_BODY.jpg" alt="images022813" />Stricter immigration controls have led to the shortage, forcing fruit to remain unpicked because growers simply don’t have enough workers to harvest. The issue was raised by farmers during the annual Florida Berry Expo at the University of Florida’s Gulf Coast Research Center, according to HispanicBusiness.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Carl Grooms, Owner of Fancy Farms in Plant City said during the event that he is leaving dozens of acres of fruit in the fields this season because he doesn't have the workers to pick and pack the strawberries.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>The 2012 season has already presented difficulties for Florida growers. Increased Mexican berry farming and cheap fruit caused prices to fall.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"It's not a level playing field," said UF economist Zhengfei Guan, who attended the expo. "We are going to see a lot of industry consolidation." </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>30 percent of the state’s berry farmers plan to downsize in the coming years according to a recent survey.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Growers have hired lobybists to work with the government to create an “Ag Card,” which would allow immigrants to come in an pick the fields.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"We need to innovate and change," Guan said. "The single most competitive advantage for Mexico is cheap labor." He also noted that the industry needs to find ways to develop methods of mechanical harvesting for the fruits. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/2/27/labor_shortage_forces_strawberry_farmers_to.htm" target="_new">Labor Update</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
