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Miami Herald
27-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Fourth of July barbecues will cost more in California. Here's a breakdown
Fireworks aren't the only thing accompanying Californians' Fourth of July celebrations this year - higher grocery prices will as well. A California cookout for 10 guests will cost $90.06, compared with the national average of $70.92 and Western regional average of $73.50, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual "marketbasket" survey. California-specific costs were included for the first time this year. The survey uses data collected by volunteer shoppers across the country, including Farm Bureau members and others, from stores in every state and Puerto Rico to give consumers a snapshot of food costs. This year's national average of $7.09 per person for a cookout, marks the second-highest cost since the survey began in 2013. California shoppers face steep premiums on cookout staples. Ground beef costs $14.33 for two pounds - $1 more than the national average. Chicken breasts run $12.48 for two pounds versus $7.79 nationally, while three pounds of pork chops cost $19.30, compared with $14.13 nationwide. Even basic items carry higher price tags in California. Hamburger buns cost $3.42 per package ($1.07 above average) and cheese runs $3.87 per pound (33 cents more). Fresh strawberries cost $6.14 for two pints versus $4.69 nationally, while two and a half pounds of homemade potato salad totals $4.92 compared with $3.54 elsewhere, the American Farm Bureau Federation said. Ice cream, cookies and lemonade also cost more in the Golden State. "Inflation and lower availability of some food items continue to keep prices stubbornly high for America's families," said Samantha Ayoub, associate economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation. Several factors account for the higher costs in California and nationwide. Trump administration tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of the biggest suppliers of fresh produce, have increased import costs, which most retailers pass on to consumers. In March, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and Mexico. The American Farm Bureau Federation's assessment focuses mostly on food and drink items primarily grown and produced in the U.S., making it challenging to determine the full tariff impacts. However, steel and aluminum tariffs have increased costs for canned goods such as pork and beans. "Market uncertainty remains a challenge for many California producers, but we are hopeful the announcements of several recent trade deals is an indication that the administration is making progress on this front," Matthew Viohl, California Farm Bureau director of policy advocacy, said in an emailed statement. Reduced cattle availability and recovering chicken populations hit by avian flu also pushed prices higher. Additionally, ICE raids across California have created widespread fear among agricultural workers, disrupting farm operations and potentially threatening food production. Workforce disruptions could threaten the state's ability to supply healthy food, drive up grocery prices for all Americans and jeopardize California's position as the nation's agricultural leader, said Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy for the California Farm Bureau. Higher grocery costs, however, don't benefit farmers, who receive only 15% of each retail food dollar while facing rising expenses for labor, transportation and taxes. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
San Francisco Chronicle
14-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Wary response in Bay Area after Trump reportedly halts workplace raids at farms, hotels, eateries
As the Trump administration reportedly pauses immigration raids and arrests across most of the agricultural industry and hotels and restaurants, some Californians working in those sectors predicted the move will do little more than offer a false sense of security for undocumented workers. 'This is not a victory,' said Reyna Maldonado, owner of Las Guerreras, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Oakland. 'It's a political calculation, and we have every reason to remain skeptical.' The Trump administration on Thursday directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to largely put a hold on enforcement operations across agricultural restaurant and hotel workplaces, according to an email obtained by the New York Times and reported by other outlets. The direction came as President Donald Trump acknowledged on social media that his aggressive immigration crackdown was hurting industries that he counted on for support. 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,' he wrote in a social media post. The industries singled out by Trump are major operators in California, so the impacts of an immigration crackdown and a potential reversal could be significant. The state produces more than a third of the nation's vegetables and three quarters of its fruits and nuts, according to the state agricultural department. California is also the top tourism destination in the country. The policy shift comes amid a push by the administration to detain and deport more undocumented immigrants that has sparked massive protests, particularly in California. Trump has deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines in response to ongoing demonstrations in Los Angeles. Workplace raids have been part of immigration agents' strategy, but they've also detained many immigrants showing up to required court appearances in San Francisco and elsewhere. The expansion of raids to include non-criminals working in various industries has been particularly controversial. Prior to reports of the policy shift, the California Farm Bureau on Friday put out a statement saying that the administration's immigration enforcement tactics were 'having a disruptive effect on California's rural communities and the farmers, ranchers, workers and families who live and work there.' 'If federal immigration enforcement activities continue in this direction, it will become increasingly difficult to produce food, process it and get it onto grocery store shelves,' Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau, said in the statement. Rumors of immigration raids spread across California's Central Valley fields this week, stoking fear among laborers and leading some to stay home from work. Andy Naja-Riese, CEO of Agricultural Institute of Marin, which operates more than a half dozen farmers markets, said Saturday he was hopeful that those who are working in the fields would not be subject to deportations and that they could 'continue to do the work that they do and stay here with their families and their neighbors.' In Oakland, Maldonado, a Mexican immigrant and recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, has held several team meetings in recent weeks to talk with her restaurant staff about evacuation plans in case of a raid and to ensure that everyone, including undocumented workers, knew their rights. 'It's been extremely difficult for all of us to come to work with so much tension and stress,' she said. 'As business owners, we're living with one foot in our dream, and the other one in a nightmare.' Despite the administration reportedly shifting its mass deportation campaign away from farms, hotels and restaurants, Maldonado said Saturday that she felt little relief. 'The lack of safety doesn't stop at restaurants. ICE is going to continue to show up in neighborhoods, other workplaces and at homes,' she said. 'This is a tactic to confuse the public, ease criticism from industries that heavily depend on immigrant labor and then quietly continue to terrorize undocumented people.' News of the new guidance broke the evening before No Kings protests launched in more than 2,000 cities across the nation in opposition to a large-scale military parade planned by the Trump administration to celebrate the president's 79th birthday. In San Francisco, protester Alexis Mauricio stood in Civic Center Plaza holding a sign that read "Tu Lucha es Mi Lucha," meaning "your fight is my fight." Inside each letter she had illustrated a flag from different countries, including Mexico, Brazil, Honduras and the United States. Mauricio, 30, said she was unimpressed by Trump's decision to pull back on the workplace raids. "I'll believe it when I see it," she said. "Those people never should have been targeted in the first place." Reporter J.D. Morris contributed to this report.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Not just workers': California Farm Bureau defends agricultural employees amongst ICE raids
(KRON) — The California Farm Bureau is speaking out against the recent wave of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) activity and supporting the agricultural workforce that they say is 'essential to the success and sustainability of farming and ranching in the state.' Bay Area prepares for 'No Kings' day of protest In a statement released on Friday, CFB says that there would be unharvested crops, suffering rural businesses, and rising food prices without these indispensable employees. 'California agriculture depends on and values its workforce. Farm employees are not just workers—they are partners in this industry,' said Bryan Little, senior director of policy advocacy at the California Farm Bureau. 'The current approach to federal immigration enforcement is having a disruptive effect on California's rural communities and the farmers, ranchers, workers and families who live and work there.' According to CFB, one-third of the U.S. agricultural workforce is located in California and the state is the leading producer of fruits, vegetables, and nuts in the country. 'If federal immigration enforcement activities continue in this direction, it will become increasingly difficult to produce food, process it and get it onto grocery store shelves,' Little added 'A stable and reliable workforce is crucial to maintaining the nation's food security.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
E&E News
05-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Calif. lawmaker weakens Trump-proofing bill on ‘fraudulent' dam releases
SACRAMENTO, California — A Democratic state lawmaker is weakening her proposal to penalize federal officials for releasing water from dams under false pretenses in a deal with water agencies, farmers and business groups who had previously opposed the bill. What happened: David Burruto, a spokesperson for Assemblymember Diane Papan, confirmed Thursday that she has agreed to significantly amend her AB 1146 , which was a response to the Trump administration dumping water from two Central Valley dams in January and falsely claiming it would help fight the Los Angeles fires. Papan has agreed to remove most of the enforcement measures from her bill, according to a Thursday email sent by industry and agricultural groups to assemblymembers and confirmed by Burruto. Those include provisions that would have given state water regulators interim relief power against dam releases deemed fraudulent and required federal officials or water agencies that get water delivered from the federal government to pay fines of up to $10,000 a day. Advertisement As a result, the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Farm Bureau, the Association of California Water Agencies and other farming and water groups previously in opposition will no longer fight the bill, according to the email.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California farm groups look to stabilize workforce amid crackdown on illegal immigration
As the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration, California farm groups are working behind the scenes to influence legislative measures that would ensure a stable supply of laborers for the state's farms and ranches, an industry long reliant on a foreign-born workforce. The administration's vows of mass raids targeting undocumented immigrants, combined with its new tariff-induced trade wars, have farmers and labor groups united behind the need for legislation that ensures the U.S. continues producing an ample food supply and has sufficient workers to tend its crops. But beneath that shared goal a rift has opened around a singular question: Which workforce should be prioritized? Should farming interests push to protect and retain the undocumented workers who have toiled in the country's fields for years and who, in many cases, have families and community roots? Or should they focus on solidifying the foreign guest worker program that provides a legal channel for importing seasonal laborers on a temporary basis, but offers no path to legal residency and has proved vulnerable to exploitation? The issue is crucial in California, which grows more than one-third of the country's vegetables and more than three-quarters of the nation's fruits and nuts. Although a growing number of the state's 162,000 farmworkers are hired temporarily through the cumbersome H-2A visa program, at least half are undocumented immigrants and many have been in the country for more than a decade, according to a January 2022 report prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor. It has been nearly 40 years since federal lawmakers passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 strengthened border security and introduced civil and criminal penalties for employers who knowingly hired undocumented workers. But it also paved the way for nearly 3 million immigrants in the country without authorization to gain legal status. Many major farm interests think it's time for another such reset. But immigration remains one of the most charged topics in the nation's Capitol, and any agricultural labor bill would need to garner support in a Republican-controlled Congress and White House. The California Farm Bureau, which advocates for farmers and ranchers, and the influential United Farm Workers union have for years called for reforms that would strengthen the legal pipeline for importing a temporary seasonal workforce and also provide a pathway to legal residency for undocumented laborers already in the U.S. They supported the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill that has twice passed the House before stalling in the Senate. The measure, written by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, and Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington state, included a pathway to legal residency for farm laborers who have been working in the U.S. for an extended time period and who pass criminal background checks. It would have amended the agricultural guest worker visa program to streamline the hiring process, improve the availability of decent worker housing and establish a mandatory E-Verify system through which agricultural employers would electronically verify eligibility of their workers. Though billed as a compromise, the legislation was ultimately sidelined by concerns from the powerful American Farm Bureau Federation and a faction of Republican lawmakers over a provision they feared could expose H-2A employers to lawsuits by workers. There were also concerns that a mandatory E-Verify provision would have significant impacts for farmers. But with the Trump administration intent on upending the existing immigration system, leaders of California-based farming groups said the timing may be right for getting a comprehensive immigration measure passed. The bill's lead authors say they expect to reintroduce a version of the bill soon. 'Sometimes, it's these kinds of widespread concerns that open the door for an opportunity to fix the issues that just truly haven't been dealt with for many decades,' said Ryan Jacobsen, chief executive of the Fresno County Farm Bureau. Read more: Kern County immigration raid offers glimpse into new reality for California farmworkers Meanwhile, the National Council of Agricultural Employers — which advocates for farmers and ranchers involved in labor-intensive agricultural production, and represents about 95% of employers using the H-2A program — has drafted legislation that aims to make the visa program more efficient, according to President and CEO Michael Marsh. It doesn't provide a pathway to legal status, but Marsh said such a component could potentially be added in upcoming negotiations. The legislation proposes to expand the types of labor covered under the visa program and allow for year-round employment of H-2A workers, according to a summary shared with The Times. It would eliminate a controversial minimum hourly wage structure for guest workers laid out under the current program unless the Government Accountability Office finds that the employment of H2-A workers undermines the domestic workforce. It would provide over $1 billion for construction and repair of farmworker housing. It's intended as a 'marker bill,' Marsh said, meaning it contains policy ideas that could be folded into larger pieces of legislation. The challenge, Marsh said, is to craft a bill that meets the needs of employers, encourages workers already in the country illegally to come out of the shadows — and can earn enough Republican votes to pass out of Congress. 'How do we thread the needle, so that we can make sure that we retain the existing workforce in some type of status that is not offensive to those folks who think it's just amnesty, but at the same time allow farmers and ranchers in the United States to maintain a workforce and still produce food here?' Marsh said. An H-2A-focused bill might be a palatable solution in states that are less reliant on undocumented workers and already more dependent on the visa program. But in California, rumblings of such a bill have stirred opposition. Under H-2A, agricultural employers can hire workers from other countries on temporary permits, so long as they demonstrate an inability to find a sufficient number of available U.S. workers. The employer is required to provide imported workers with food, housing and safe working conditions. Although the Golden State had among the highest number of certified H-2A workers in 2022, many California growers say the costs of providing housing and a required wage of nearly $20 an hour make the program economically unfeasible in its current form. Farmworker advocates have also called for changes, saying the program is ripe for exploitation — because a worker's permission to be in the country is tied to the employer — and should be bolstered with additional protections. Manuel Cunha Jr., president of the Fresno-based Nisei Farmers League, said he would 'heavily' oppose an H-2A-focused bill if it doesn't also provide a path to legal residency for longtime farmworkers, including those who were deemed essential amid the pandemic. 'If you were to say you're going to do a guest worker bill before you take care of the people that are here… I will fight that to the bitter end,' he said. 'I'll join the advocacy groups. I'll even join the UFW.' Farming and labor groups say they are still formulating their strategies for pushing significant legislative changes. The Times was unable to reach several members of Congress who represent communities in California's agricultural heartland. Spokespeople for Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) did not respond to requests for comment; a spokesperson for Rep. Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) said he was unavailable for an interview due to his schedule. Rep. Adam Gray, a Democrat from Merced, said he supports the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and would like to see a pathway to citizenship for agricultural workers. At the same time, he said, he would be open to working on a bill that reforms the H-2A visa program. 'We need to progress on this issue,' he said. 'I think a lot of those strident positions that you see in Washington are not reflected when you go out in the real communities. I think you find a lot more Americans on both sides of the aisle that say, 'Look, get something done.'' This article is part of The Times' equity reporting initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California's economic divide. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
