Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/705612
www.goodfruit.com Good Fruit Grower AUGUST 2016 15 U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, Washington, supports loosening the loan requirements on a priority basis; domestic workers would get first dibs on rooms, and H-2A workers could be housed in them only if there are rooms remaining. "It's an inefficient use of taxpayer dollars if farm hous- ing is being underutilized or sitting empty because there are not enough domestic farm workers to fill available housing," Newhouse's office said in an email to Good Fruit Grower. "It's in the best interest of taxpayers and farmers to make sure USDA services are being used to their full extent, including allowing H-2A workers access to 514 housing if there are insufficient domestic workers to fill available units." The farm labor program is not the only funding source for growers who need labor housing, but others often are intended only for nonprofit organizations, said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association in Yakima, Washington. Banks don't always want to front capital for growers' worker housing costs because "it's a big expense that doesn't necessarily cash flow well." History of Orchard Homes The Milton-Freewater "camp" started in the 1950s when farmers picked up day laborers — mostly white, male veterans of World War II and Korea, many of them transient, Waliser said. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was families from the south and later Mexican immigrants, as the size and variety of crops increased and the agri- cultural season stretched from weeks to several months. In the 1970s, a group of area farmers used a federal loan to rebuild the apartments and another to renovate it in the early 2000s, he said. Since then, migrant labor has been fading. Northwest growers complain of labor shortages of up to 20 percent or more. "As a result of that, our occupancy in the camp has dwindled down in the last decade," Waliser said. Farm laborers save up to buy their own homes more than they did in the 1990s, said Jaime Garcia, a former resident and former chairman of the facility's board of directors. Also, a newer labor housing facility opened in Walla Walla, just eight miles north in Washington, com- peting for residents. Garcia would favor letting H-2A residents live at orchard homes. That would help fill the facility and help growers find workers. "They are scarce of people," Garcia said. Angelica Medina, a former resident and teacher at the preschool next door, has fond memories of playing with friends while her parents worked at the Green Giant asparagus cannery in nearby Dayton, Washington, and paid their rent in cash every week. "Back then, to me, they were beautiful," Medina said. It was also full, with a long waiting list. For five years straight, her mother drove from Mexico, stopping to use a payphone at the Madras, Oregon, Safeway, to inform the manager the family was on its way. Medina has noticed the change, too. Green Giant closed in 2015. Other packing houses and processing facilities have followed suit, while migrants have settled, switching to construction or landscaping work. "A lot of people are buying houses and they are settling here," Medina said. "They aren't going back and forth." Life at Orchard Homes The residents of Orchard Homes pay a sliding scale, live across the street from a Safeway and next door to a preschool where many of their children spend their days. Beatriz Lara has lived in the apartments year-round with her husband and family for nearly eight years. She carpools about 45 miles west each morning to her job at a Broetje Orchards property in Wallula, Washington. She describes her home the way many families would an apartment complex: decent but not perfect and defi- nitely not temporary. It has a playground and central heat and air, while managers help her keep tabs on her children with the security cameras. However, sometimes the laundry machines don't work, vandalism occurs and she wishes the grass was watered more often. But it's home. "I feel comfortable here," she said. • BIOSAFE SYSTEMS' SUSTAINABLE SOIL PROGRAM Conventional Fumigants TerraClean ® 5.0 and TerraGrow ® Toxic chemistries continue to be phased out across the country Innovative, sustainable and proven effective Major plant back restrictions Treat and plant 12 hours later Perfect for in-season and double cropping Non-sustainable OMRI listed for organic use Highly residual Allows for pathogen resistance to build up Non-residual Inhibits pathogen resistance VS 1.888.273.3088 | biosafesystems.com