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Agricultural adversity
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Opposition to new Cary apartments still fighting By JOSEPH BUSTOS jbustos@shawmedia.com
Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com
A farm worker removes tillers from sweet corn plants Thursday while working on a local farm.
Farmers call for immigration reform amid workforce woes By SHAWN SHINNEMAN sshinneman@shawmedia.com Harry Alten remembers his dad hiring migrant farmworkers decades ago. Fast forward more than a half century, and the Harvard farmer has spent his own career utilizing migrant workers – a necessity, he said, to fill his farm’s workforce. “It was difficult for us to get local labor,” Alten said. “That filled the void.” Alten is one of many area farmers calling for immigration reforms he said would vastly improve the agricultural commu-
nity’s ability to fill jobs and, in turn, provide for the country’s nutritional needs. Farmers have long had to look outside the area’s local employee pool for farmhands. Even during a stingy job market, domestic workers are reluctant to take the inglorious jobs in tough conditions. Fruit and vegetable operations, large dairy farms, large pork production facilities and seed corn facilities, to name a few, tend to require heavy labor, said Adam Nielsen, director of National Legislation & Policy Development for the Illinois Farm Bureau.
“We have segments of the industry here in the state which are heavily reliant on immigration labor,” Nielsen said. Without reform, experts say the segments will shrink. Local farmers, like Alten, often turn to migrant workers – who don’t necessarily come from outside the country. Some live in southern states during the winter, and on Midwestern farms during the growing months. But even finding those workers has become more difficult, said Maggie Rivera, who is the national treasurer of the League of United Latin American Cit-
izens and has ties to McHenry County. An older generation of migrant farmworkers is retiring, leaving a generation that’s interested in finding more permanent employment, Rivera said. This furthers farmers’ issues. “Where they’re having issues is they cannot just employ someone to work in the field that is not properly documented,” she said. “For them to pass immigration reform, would mean that they have a bigger pool of people to continue that kind of work.” Nielsen would like to see two
See FARMERS, page A5
“We have segments of the industry here in the state which are heavily reliant on immigration labor.” Adam Nielsen, Director of National Legislation & Policy Development for the Illinois Farm Bureau
CARY – Even though the Village Board has given its blessing to a proposed apartment complex at First and Pearl streets, there is still an active campaign to try to stop the $18 million 60-unit complex from going forward. A website, carymatters.com, and a corresponding Facebook page includes an online Weigh-in on petition with more than the project 700 signatures calling for the Village Board People who want to reverse its decision to comment on any on allowing the afford- proposed project able housing apartment requesting federal complex to be built by tax credits have until Pedcor Investments. July 25 to submit After vocal opposition to the project letters to the Illinois attended Tuesday’s Housing DevelopVillage Board meeting, ment Authority. IHDA Director the Village Board now plans to discuss the of Marketing and project again at its July Communication Cami Freeman said 15 meeting. Cary-resident Jim if the development Cosler started Cary authority receives Matters with the inten- protest letters, IHDA tion of it being a place board members ask for people to discuss the developers how topics about the project, they handled or plan he said. to handle the issues. He said he has Illinois Housing Dewalked through town velopment Authority and found that people Attn: Multi-Family are overwhelmingly Housing Department against the project. 401 N. Michigan Ave., Cosler also said the Suite 700 zoning review of this Chicago, IL 6061 project moved through quickly. “The swiftness in which it happened has shocked residents,” Cosler said. He reiterated concerns that the Pedcor project would be right next to the Oak Knoll Apartments. Cosler said there are several other alternative places in town where the apartment complex could be placed, but he wouldn’t be specific.
See APARTMENTS, page A5
Storms knock down some Ill. corn crops The ASSOCIATED PRESS JOY – Most of Illinois’ corn crop is considered strong this year, but farmers in western and north-central parts of the state may not fare so well after recent storms. High winds, some 60 mph and stronger, and heavy rain knocked down fields of corn on Monday. “I easily had a $60,000 to $70,000 hit in one night,” said Ryan Mueller, who farms near Joy, about 35 miles southwest
of Moline. He estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of his 600acre crop was damaged. “The sad part is, hands down, this was the best crop I had going in my lifetime,” Mueller said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said earlier this week that 80 percent of the state’s corn crop was in good to excellent shape. The storms raked much of Mercer County, where Mueller lives, and other parts of Bureau, La Salle, Marshall and
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Putnam counties. Now, farmers whose fields were damaged will just have to wait a week or more to see what happens next. Crops that are still green and with roots in the ground could stand back up. “Time will tell,” said Joe Franks, an agronomist who works for agricultural supply company Growmark. “The plant is still alive. That’s the good thing.” Most corn and grain farmers insure their crops against
loss, but “not all have insurance for wind damage,” said Duane Voy. He is director of the USDA’s Risk Management Agency in St. Paul, Minnesota. Henry County Farm Bureau President Dennis Verbeck estimated that a third of his 1,300-acre corn crop was badly damaged this week. “One day, you see a beautiful crop, and then boom! Just like that it’s snatched from AP photo you,” he said. “One day you’re Corn plants are seen Wednesday surrounded by water at a farm in a peacock, the next day you’re Silvis. A round of severe thunderstorms Monday damaged area crops a feather duster.” and dumped a record amount of rain.
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