Beyond the Fields: A Letter From Abby Jacobson

Dear Editor,

As proud fruit and vegetable growers in Michigan, my family has worked hard to provide safe, affordable and healthy food for our community. Fruit and vegetable farmers like us depend upon the federal H2A foreign worker program to help care for and harvest our crops. The labor costs for this program has risen nearly 60% over the last 10 years. We are facing a crisis in our agricultural industry. We need the labor to survive but cannot afford it.

This issue is not about the legacy of the Westview family farm. This is about the survival of more than 46,000 family farms in Michigan. These family farms produce more than 300 commodities making Michigan the 2nd most diverse state in the nation. This is also about the economic impact to the state of Michigan. Agriculture contributes more than $100 billion to the state’s economy. Agriculture is also Michigan’s 2nd largest industry employing nearly 1,000,000 people which is ¼ of the state’s workforce. These numbers do not even take into account the Michigan agritourism industry which is a part of the 3rd largest industry in our state, tourism.

This is not just about Michigan farms and farmers. This is a national issue. If there are

not enough farmers to feed the people of our country, then our national security will be at risk. This puts the health, safety and welfare of the American people in jeopardy including but not limited to: lack of food, increased cost of food, bioterrorism etc.

As a 6th generation farmer I am asking you to contact your elected officials in

Washington. The time for them to act is now, and to fix this problem before it is too late and there are no American farmers left to feed our country.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this huge challenge of American

farmers.

Sincerely,

Abby Jacobson

Westview Orchards