" I heard it through the AgLine"

June 29, 2010

 

 

·        Veterans gain job skills on the farm

·        Watermelon glut has growers nervous

·        US ag chemical firm sold for $1 billion

·        Institute launches Fertilizer 101 initiative

·        Farmworkers’ plea: Take our tough jobs

 

 

Veterans gain job skills on the farm

 

(SignonSanDiego.com) – A cool mist cloaked the ocher hills near Camp Pendleton on harvest morning. The rising sun burned behind the cypress trees, and two former Marines headed to the greenhouses.

 

Colin Archipley, the owner of Archi’s Acres, a small organic farm in Valley Center (San Diego County), and Cory Pollard, one of the veterans he trains in sustainable agriculture, walked through the dappled light of the avocado orchard. Their boots crunched leaves along the dirt path.

 

Both men left the military after serving three combat tours in Iraq with infantry units from Camp Pendleton. On the battlefield, they were responsible for the lives of their men in arms.

 

Now, still in their 20s, they have a new mission at this hilltop farm. They and other veterans — some in their golden years — have found a peaceful place to cultivate a fresh start in life or rekindle the camaraderie they still missed decades after leaving the service.

 

“Veterans are the most underused resource. In the military, we have great leaders, a great work ethic. It doesn’t make sense to me that the failure rate is so high after they leave the service,” Archipley said. This was the seed that germinated into the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training program, which Archipley and his wife, Karen, started in 2007.

 

The Archipleys use their farm to train former service members in organic agriculture, grove management and hydroponic techniques that are energy- and water-efficient. The San Diego VA Healthcare System refers veterans with physical or mental injuries to them and covers some of the employment-training costs through the agency’s Compensated Work Therapy programs.

 

Last year’s unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans was 21.1 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor reported, well above the 16.6 percent for their civilian peers.

 

Joblessness among veterans has many causes, including the post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by as many as one in five of today’s generation of combat veterans. Another factor is the persistent stigma in some quarters against hiring troops returning from the war zone, workplace experts have found.

 

In addition, Colin Archipley said, “for veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, it is hard to find employment that is meaningful to them. They had been part of a team, but in the civilian economic sector, the focus is making money. They don’t have that sense of a greater mission.”

 

Pollard didn’t say much when he joined the program a year ago. After serving during the 2003 invasion of Baghdad, Pollard returned to Iraq for combat duty in Fallujah and Ramadi. Then Pollard decided he had enough.

 

“The hardest part was dealing with everything at once. Trying to survive, worrying about family, worrying about bills,” he said.

 

Inside the humid confines of one greenhouse, Pollard hunted for the bushiest basil ready for market. He leaned over the racks of plastic pipes, where a thin film of water enriched with a slurry of bat guano and sea kelp nourishes plant roots.

 

“Too skinny,” he said, passing over one spindly specimen.

 

Then he tugged with one gloved hand on another plant, trying not to snap its stem, and gently placed a bunch of aromatic basil onto a plastic tray for bagging.

 

Pollard lives next door on land the Archipleys lease. Nights on the hilltop are quiet, and the days are punctuated by little more than the eerie keening of a peacock, the trickle of water through the hydroponic system and the whinnying of horses. Occasionally, the muted thump of helicopters or artillery training at Camp Pendleton provides a reminder of the war zone.

 

The training program has helped him adjust after his Iraq experiences, Pollard said. “It’s low-stress, a relaxing environment. Just the opposite of combat.”

 

Rod Krause, a disabled 60-year-old former Navy medic, had not worked in five years before he found Archi’s Acres.

 

“Nature is a healing thing; that’s a centuries-old idea,” he said.

 

It would be easier to hire experienced farmhands, but that would be missing the point, said Karen Archipley.

 

“My husband led a troop in Iraq. He came back here to create another troop,” she said. “That’s where they can get into trouble is in civilian life — not having their support system, not having people who truly understand or have been through the same experiences that they have.”

 

When 70-year-old retired Marine Col. Len Hayes heard about the program, he did a little reconnaissance. Hayes, executive director of Oceanside’s 1st Marine Division Association, visited the farm and found it to be a wonderful opportunity for veterans to decompress in a bucolic setting.

 

“When I came back from Vietnam, I was self-medicating with alcohol. If there had been a place like this where I could have gone, I probably would have had a lot less anger in my 20s and 30s than I did,” Hayes said.

 

The Department of Veterans Affairs in San Diego has 25 other veterans in Compensated Work Therapy programs, all striving to gain long-term employment skills.

 

“Work is therapeutic. It helps people value themselves,” said Dr. Robert Smith, chief of staff for the San Diego VA Healthcare System. “Our society typically expects that people work and be productive. If people have been out of the work force for a long time, it can be very devaluing to them, to their psyche and how they think of themselves.”

 

Despite widespread acclaim for the services at Archi’s Acres, it nearly became a casualty of its own success in February.

 

Local VA officials were paying some of the veterans’ wages through a pilot partnership. When they sought more funding to accommodate a waiting list of veterans interested in the program, a VA official in another state complained that the work therapy funds were being used improperly.

 

Eight veterans undergoing training at Archi’s Acres, including some who had been homeless, suddenly became jobless. Pollard pawned his laptop to buy food.

 

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, opened an inquiry. A host of other prominent supporters from San Diego County lined up endorsements. The Archipleys spent $80,000 on the veterans’ wages and hustled for grants with the Annenberg and Issa foundations, they said.

 

But ultimately, efforts to restore the VA funding were unsuccessful.

 

The experience inspired the Archipleys to make their program self-sustaining. Under a contract signed last week, the VA will continue to refer veterans to their farm. But the wages will be paid through private grants — after the Archipleys finish their application for nonprofit status.

 

This fall, Archi’s Acres will host an agriculture class from MiraCosta College that is free to veterans. Eventually, the Archipleys hope to seed a larger crop of trainees, using their three remaining veterans as managers.

 

Robert Cogill, 67, paused amid his work one afternoon at Archi’s Acres, where he was using a small tool to drop Swiss chard seeds into vermiculite.

 

“Plants have the ultimate desire to live. No matter how gone or dead they look, you can bring them back,” he said. “It’s the same with people. We can learn a lot from plants.”

 

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Watermelon glut has growers nervous

 

(MySanAntonio.com) – July 4 is shaping up to be especially juicy for watermelon lovers, though growers worry about taking a thumping.

 

The reason is Texas and other major producing states have grown so much of the succulent fruit that the price has tumbled — at times below the point where farmers break even on production costs.

 

“Until Memorial Day, there was a watermelon shortage and high prices,” said Tony Anderson, owner of the Texas Melon Exchange in Edinburg. “Since then, it's been the exact opposite.”

 

Ron Catlett, general manager of the La Fiesta grocery stores, said with what suppliers are calling a bumper crop of watermelons from the Rio Grande Valley, prices could be down by 25 percent from last year.

 

H-E-B spokeswoman Dya Campos also said prices for watermelons have fallen this year because of abundant supply.

 

While growers hope demand picks up enough to boost prices through the huge July 4 holiday, Anderson isn't convinced they'll make the money they have in years past.

 

Consumers, on the other hand, could catch a break.

 

Many watermelons are available at chain stores for less than $4, less than the price for medium-size watermelons last year, Anderson said.

 

Two stores in San Antonio had seedless watermelons on sale Friday for less than $3.80. An extra-large melon was going for $6.98.

 

“I think shoppers can find good value in watermelons this year,” said Bob Morrissey, executive director of the National Watermelon Association.

 

He said the southwest region, including Texas, Arizona and California, have had good production this season, though some parts of the region started late because of weather problems.

 

Those delays increased output in the summer months, which is part of the reason an oversupply has arisen now, officials said.

 

Texas is one of the largest watermelon-producing states, with growers sprinkled around the state, including counties south and west of San Antonio.

 

In 2009, Texas growers planted almost 21,000 acres of the fruit and produced almost $48 million in watermelon receipts. That production was the fourth highest in the nation behind Florida, Georgia and California.

 

Richard Janek, who farms and ranches outside Floresville, said this year's watermelon crop is one of the best he's seen.

 

“Really juicy, really sweet and the right size,” he said.

 

But he, too, is worried about selling his crop because so much more is available from other growers.

 

“If you get them sold, you're lucky as heck,” said Janek. “It doesn't matter which broker you talk to. There's just too many watermelons.”

 

James Crawford, who owns J&K Farms near Uvalde with his wife Kathy, feels pretty good as he gets ready to ship his first watermelons to market. While the he expects the price he gets will be less than what he'd like, he hopes to cover that by producing and selling more melons this year.

 

The industry is rapidly changing and an oversupply this week can be corrected quickly if demand jumps or weather problems arise.

 

“The numbers change weekly,” Crawford said.

 

With the High Holiday for melons around the corner, he and others hope those numbers will improve.

 

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US ag chemical firm sold for $1 billion

 

(HAARETZ.com) – The Makhteshim Agan Group will buy U.S. firm Albaugh for about $1 billion to bolster its presence in the Americas and solidify its position as the world's biggest generic agrochemical maker. Albaugh also produces generic crop protection products.

 

Makhteshim said yesterday it had signed a letter of intent to pay $340 million in cash, $455 million in seven-year promissory notes and 59 million of its own shares equivalent to a 12% stake worth $211 million. Both boards have already approved the deal.

 

The acquisition of Albaugh, a private company based in Iowa, is expected to close in the fourth quarter and be profitable within a year of closing - on a non-GAAP basis.

 

Albaugh's financial debt will not exceed $280 million, Makhteshim said in a statement. The deal is subject to the completion of due diligence and regulatory approvals in the United States, Europe and other countries.

 

Albaugh is a leading generic crop protection company in the United States, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. Dennis Albaugh, the chairman and CEO, is currently the firm's sole owner.

 

Makhteshim is a subsidiary of Koor Industries, which is part of Nochi Dankner's IDB Holding. It had sales of $2.2 billion in 2009.

 

The combined company will have the potential to realize $50 million to $60 million in synergies, said Makhteshim.

 

Dankner added, "We are very supportive of the transaction, which is consistent with IDB's strategy to expand our investments outside of Israel. This is an important development for Makhteshim Agan and for the IDB Group."

 

Avraham Bigger, Makhteshim Agan's chairman, said, "This transaction strengthens our position as a world leading manufacturer and distributor of branded off-patent crop protection products. Albaugh is an excellent strategic and geographic fit, and the directors of MAI believe the acquisition represents compelling value. It complements MAI's current business with Albaugh's topnotch operations in the Americas, innovative delivery and distribution systems, and stellar customer relationships."

 

Albaugh said, "We are confident that this combination will bring significant benefits to our customers and employees alike. Together, our two companies will provide customers with a broader, more diverse product portfolio to serve their needs, and we will continue to operate through strong partnerships with our network of distributors."

 

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Institute launches Fertilizer 101 initiative

 

Washington, D.C., (AgPR) – The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today announced the launch of a “Fertilizer101” initiative, aimed at providing the people of the fertilizer industry, their allies in the agriculture community and the general public with a central source of information on fertilizers. Key components of the initiative are a Fertilizer 101 book and a corresponding fertilizer101.org Web site.

 

“World population will grow to more than 9 billion people by the year 2050 and fertilizer will be increasingly important as modern agriculture works to feed a growing world,” said TFI President Ford B. West.  “We cannot allow the idea that food comes only from the supermarket to take root. It’s in this spirit that TFI developed Fertilizer 101. We hope that readers and visitors to the Web site will gain information that provides a better understanding of what fertilizer is and why it’s so important to our future.”

 

Fertilizer 101 replaces TFI’s Fertilizer Handbook, a well established industry resource for fertilizer information. As was the case with the Fertilizer Handbook, the new book and Web site cover the important fertilizer fundamentals including information on essential nutrients, fertilizer production and definitions of commonly used fertilizer products.   In addition, the new resources contain the latest information regarding nutrients in the environment and product safety and security, including content on fertilizers and human health as well as information on nutrient stewardship by farmers and home gardeners.

 

 “As TFI works daily to educate Capitol Hill staff, representatives of regulatory agencies and the media, we identified the need for a centralized fertilizer resource for individuals who may not have a technical background,” said West. “Through the tools produced in the Fertilizer 101 initiative, we hope to educate key decision makers and the general public about the steps being taken to ensure science and stewardship guide the industry’s actions.”

 

The Fertilizer 101 book is available for purchase from TFI at a cost of $39.95 per copy. TFI members can order copies at the discounted price of $14.95 per copy. Order forms may be obtained online at http://www.tfi.org/publications/publications_orderform.pdf.

 

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Farmworkers’ plea: Take our tough jobs

 

(The Associated Press) SAN FRANCISCO — In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farmworkers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert to challenge unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.

 

Farmworkers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.

 

So the group is encouraging the unemployed — and any Washington pundits or anti-immigrant activists who want to join them — to apply for the some of thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.

 

All applicants need to do is fill out an online form under the banner “I want to be a farmworker” at www.takeourjobs.org, and experienced field hands will train them and connect them to farms.

 

According to the Labor Department, three out of four farmworkers were born abroad, and more than half are illegal immigrants.

 

Proponents of tougher immigration laws have argued that farmers have become used to cheap labor and don’t want to raise wages enough to draw in other workers.

 

Those who have done the job have some words of advice for applicants: First, dress appropriately.

 

During summer, when the harvest of fruits and vegetables is in full swing in California’s Central Valley, temperatures hover in the triple digits. Heat exhaustion is one of the reasons farm labor consistently makes the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ top ten list of the nation’s most dangerous jobs.

 

Second, expect long days. Growers have a small window to pick fruit before it is overripe.

 

And don’t count on a big paycheck. Farmworkers are excluded from federal overtime provisions, and small farms don’t even have to pay the minimum wage. Fifteen states don’t require farm labor to be covered by workers compensation laws.

 

Any takers?

 

“The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren’t taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let’s see what happens.”

 

To highlight how unlikely the prospect of Americans lining up to pick strawberries or grapes, Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” plans to feature the “Take Our Jobs” campaign on July 8.

 

The campaign is being played for jokes, but the need to secure the right to work for immigrants who are here is serious business, said Michael Rubio, supervisor in Kern County, one of the biggest ag producing counties in the nation.

 

“Our county, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant and unauthorized workers,” he said. “I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and to spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farmworkers.”

 

Hopefully, the message will go down easier with some laughs, said Manuel Cunha, president of the California grower association Nisei Farmers League, who was not a part of the campaign.

 

“If you don’t add some humor to this, it’s enough to get you drinking, and I don’t mean Pepsi,” Cunha said, dismissing the idea that Americans would take up the farmworkers’ offer.

 

California’s agriculture industry launched a similar campaign in 1998, hoping to recruit welfare recipients and unemployed workers to work on farms, he said. Three people showed up.

 

“Give us a legal, qualified work force. Right now, farmers don’t know from day to day if they’re going to get hammered by ICE,” he said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “What happens to my labor pool?”

 

His organization supports AgJobs, a bill currently in the Senate which would allow those who have worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days in the previous two years to get legal status.

 

The bill has been proposed in various forms since the late 1990s, with backing from the United Farm Workers of America and other farming groups, but has never passed.

 

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