EDEN, NY — Farmers from across Western New York voiced their concerns to Congressman Nick Langworthy on Tuesday in a roundtable; some say they are facing new and old problems.
"People do not understand that just because it rains today and is sunny tomorrow does not mean you can plant tomorrow because the ground is too wet," said David Zittel of Zittel Farms.
Zittel says he's noticing the change in weather patterns impacting his produce,
"We have more rain when we get rain and less of it sporadically; you get a deluge of an inch of a rain storm, the plants go underwater, disease and insects flourish, and plants die," said Zittel.
But the change in weather is just one of the problems farmers face; some told 7 News Reporter Jaurdyn Johnson that the most significant issue right now is labor laws.
Eden Valley Growers Dave Walczak says the New York Overtime Law has reduced the limit for H2-A workers from 60 to 40 hours a week, which is a massive problem for him and many Southern-Tier farmers.
"They are here to work, and to them, they will be paid less at the end of the time they are here. That is not what they want. There's a good chance that they won't even come to new york state to work because they work as many hours as they want to," said
H2-A workers are foreign temporary workers with visas, allowing them to work in the U.S. for eight months, with limited hours.
But farmers like Dave Henry want to change that since not all farm work is seasonal.
"We need the ability to bring in our workers for more than eight months at a time because a lot of these jobs on the farms are not seasonal, such as dairies are not seasonal and we need some federal action on that," said Dave Henry of Krehr Family Farms.
The farmers tell 7 News Reporter Jaurdyn Johnson they want non-farmers to understand the intricacies of farm life.
"I don't care whether you're a garbage man, teacher or neurosurgeon, or a farmer, I think every business has those intricacies from behind that people don't see," said Zittel.
