Farm business needs immigration reform: column

Ferron Havens

For Gannett Central Wisconsin Media

Steve Voight checks the quality of a bale of hay Monday, June 12, 2006, before custom baling seventy acres of hay for Tom Fischer of Black Creek. Fischer is a cash crop farmer and the Voight's custom bale hay for area farmers as another source of income. Post-Crescent photo by Dan Powers.

As a member of both the agricultural and business community in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Agribusiness Council and its members have witnessed first-hand the benefits of new business generation in our great state.

New business generation is inherently the best catalyst to driving job creation, especially in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is definitely heading in the right direction, both economic development and jobs numbers continue a steady and strong climb, and our association and membership are grateful for the progress that has been made.

Our belief is that our state can continue to grow on this impressive record by addressing one primary policy area — immigration.

Immigrants and their children founded five Wisconsin-based Fortune 500 companies. These businesses employ more than 200,000 people and generate nearly $60 billion in annual revenue.

Today, more than 10,300 businesses in our state are immigrant-owned businesses. These businesses generated a total annual income of almost $600 million in the state's economy. We believe those numbers could be higher if and when Congress addresses our country's outdated immigration system.

Recently, the Wisconsin Agribusiness Council has become involved in the Partnership for a New American Economy. This organization is united in making the economic case for streamlining, modernizing and rationalizing the U.S. immigration system.

Now the Wisconsin Agribusiness Council, in conjunction with the PNAE, is teaming up with business leaders to call on Congress to recognize the economic necessity of substantive immigration reform.

Our nation's broken immigration system is hindering our economic recovery. We need a system that allows our state to recruit more immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as retain foreign-born students at Wisconsin universities who will drive job creation and stimulate economic growth.

The system is specifically broken for farmers who are producing below their capacity when they cannot meet their labor demands.

According to the PNAE, labor shortages in the agriculture industry are causing a loss of over $3 billion in GDP and over $1 billion in farm income.

Farming is one of the most labor-intensive careers a Wisconsinite can enter. The days are long and there are no "holidays" when the cows need milking and the hay needs baling. With more and more of the next generation choosing to leave the farm for other career choices, Wisconsin farmers rely on immigrant labor to keep Wisconsin's agribusiness sector alive and well.

Now is the time for congressional action.

Many Wisconsin agribusinesses contract with immigrant workers. We support reasonable, affordable improvements in federal laws that create opportunities for both immigrants and legal aliens to obtain employment in the production and processing of Wisconsin agricultural commodities.

Today we ask Congress not only to consider all Wisconsin agribusinesses as they debate immigration policy this summer, we ask them to consider all Wisconsin agribusinesses if they don't reach a consensus and pass legislation resulting in job creation and economic development for both agricultural employers and employees.

Ferron Havens is president and CEO of Wisconsin Agribusiness Council in Madison.

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