Farmers Adjust to Immigrant Labor Uncertainty

ALBANY — Farmer Jim Bittner wanted to add thousands of peach trees to his 500-acre fruit farm last year, but canceled his order, concerned about whether he'll have enough hands to harvest the crop.

A grower northeast of Buffalo, Mr. Bittner said he needs to see what type of immigration package comes out of Washington this year before making any major changes.

"Peaches have to be hand pruned and hand harvested," he said. "We're just holding tight to see what happens."

Mr. Bittner isn't alone. Although labor shortages have had the widest impact in places like California and Texas, Northeastern farmers have also been forced to adjust. Growers went to Washington last week to campaign for a new Senate bill that would create a guest worker program to grant as many as 1.5 million farm laborers legal status to work in America.

A similar proposal was defeated last year after legislators stonewalled immigration reform. But farm lobbyists are betting the stand-alone bill will find new supporters in the Democrat-controlled 110th Congress.

"We're cautiously optimistic," an immigration specialist with the American Farm Bureau, Austin Perez, said.