California Farms Weather Labor Fears

Harvest for many of California’s specialty crops has wound down, with fields turning from green to brown, ladders carted away, and packinghouse lines brought to a halt. Earlier this year, growers warned that stepped-up deportation efforts could leave crops unharvested. In a recent Ag Alert from the California Farm Bureau, most crops were ultimately harvested, though immigration raids in Kern and Ventura counties caused brief disruptions.

California produces more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and most of its fruits and nuts, relying on a half-million farmworkers, more than half of whom are estimated to be undocumented, according to the Farm Bureau. In Kern County, citrus grower Peter Belluomini said workers missed several days but operations soon returned to normal. The biggest toll, farmers said, came at home. After the Kern raids, school absences in the region rose 22 percent, and families prepared guardianship papers in case of deportation.

To protect their workers, farmers held legal workshops, trained supervisors, and improved communication. Researcher Alexandra Hill called it “a huge stand-up effort” by farms across the state.

Find the full Ag Alert report at https://www.agalert.com/california-ag-news/archives/october-22-2025/farmworkers-set-fear-aside-to-pick-california-bounty/