Bite by bite, it’s the food we eat that keeps us going. But are we sustaining the industry that feeds us?

Sales manager Cyndee Burton helps hire field workers at Schoharie Valley Farms.

“Basically, if we didn’t have the workers, we wouldn’t be able to have the store and we wouldn’t be able to be in business. The workers are what really drives this whole market,” says Burton.

She says it can be difficult to find people willing to do the job and do it well.

What You Need To Know

  • About 75% of farmers across the country are migrants and 50% are undocumented

  • U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited SUNY Cobleskill Friday to talk about the challenges facing migrant farmers

  • Vilsack is advocating for the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

“When I interview kids, or interview anybody for a job in the field, I explain how labor intensive it is, and when you get the people who after you explain it, they still want to do it, that’s usually a sign that it’s probably a good fit,” says Burton.

According to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, about 75% of farmers across the country are migrants and 50% of them are undocumented.

He joined industry workers and elected officials at SUNY Cobleskill Friday to talk about the daunting challenges facing migrant farm workers.

They chose to visit SUNY Cobleskill because of its strong agricultural curriculum, but they say these issues are impacting people not just in Cobleskill, not just in New York state, but across the entire country.

“The food and ag industry is a major employer in this country. It has a major impact on the gross domestic product,” says Vilsack.

He’s advocating for the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would ensure farm workers are properly paid, have safe working conditions, access to health care and housing and a pathway to citizenship.

“Everything that we would want for anyone of our family members, working and respecting the fact that these folks have traveled, doing difficult work, and their goal is to help their families and see their families,” Vilsack said.

It’s been passed in the House, but hasn’t been sent to the Senate floor for a vote yet.

Burton is hopeful it’ll happen, knowing without her team, none of this would be possible.

“It’s really important to have a good working environment to make people stick around,” says Burton.