Immigration and Ag Labor Bill Pt 2 along with Fruit Bites
With today's Fruit Grower Report, I'm Bob Larson. We talked yesterday about a new immigration bill House Republicans are currently working in hopes of getting it voted on this week. Included are provisions address ag labor.
Representative Dan Newhouse says one of the potential additions would update the guest worker visa program ...
NEWHOUSE ... "Currently we have a guest worker program called the H-2A program which many people are going to because there's no other option. We truly have a shortage of ag labor, but the current language provides for a new program called the H-2C that I think will really help provide more certainty to the agricultural industry."
Newhouse says besides addressing things like paths to citizenship for DACA recipients and the separation of families at the border, Republicans would really like to address as many of our ag labor issues as possible...
NEWHOUSE ... "There's a lot of good things in this bill and now if we're adding provisions to deal with our critical ag labor situation, I'm even more excited about its passage and working very hard to make sure we have the language in the right form so that people can support it."
But, he says it's not easy ...
NEWHOUSE ... "Immigration is probably one of the hardest things that we face. You know, if it would've been easy we'd have done it by now. The last major immigration reform was in 1986 during Ronald Reagan's term."
On top of that, President Trump called for the House GOP to put off addressing immigration reform until after the midterm elections and "stop wasting time."
That said, House Republicans seem insistent on pushing ahead with a vote on their compromise immigration bill that still faces long odds.
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BL: Welcome back for another "Fruit Bites" brought to you by Valent U.S.A. Joining us again this week is Valent's Allison Walston. And this week Allison, we're talking insects, but specifically mites.
AW: Mites aren't insects but are closely related. They are in a group called Arachnids, so more similar to spiders.
BL: That makes sense because when I think mites, I think spider mites.
AW: Yes! Spider mites can be a pest on many different plants and are found on the underside of leaves in a web that they "spin" for protection.
BL: So, can I see the mites or do I just look for webs?
AW: Mites are pretty small. Using a hand lens, you can look for mites, webbing or on the leaf for little cells that have been sucked dry from mites feeding.
BL: And, Valent has a miticide for orchards called Zeal. How does it work?
AW: Similar to an insect growth regulator, it sterilizes the females and eggs while inhibiting the immature mites from molting. Zeal needs to be applied early before warm temperatures make populations grow rapidly. As always, read and follow the label.
BL: Thanks Allison. Join us again next time for Fruit Bites, brought to you by Valent. Until then, I'm Bob Larson.
