thisoneisnotasbad t1_j4nx122 wrote on January 17, 2023 at 1:13 AM

Reply to comment by Nutmegdog1959 in Work Exchange Programs? by Berrymorerue

> Most white folk can't handle the work on a dairy farm,

What? 1200 migrant workers, 1000 farms, in a state that is like 94% white. Yes, migrants help keep VT farms running but your comment is naive. Having worked many years on a farm in various capacities, rest assured, there are plenty of white dudes working on farms in VT.

Source. https://migrantjustice.net/sites/default/files/mythsandrealities.pdf

Nutmegdog1959 t1_j4o0114 wrote on January 17, 2023 at 1:35 AM

Your information is outdated. There are only about 600 dairy farms (cow, sheep, goat) in VT currently. And the ones that employ non-family members often hire Central Americans.

There's around 500 SFO (small farm operations w/ under 200 head) that tend to be family only run farms. There are 35 LFO > 700 head and about 100 MFO 200->700 head.

So, of the +/- 135 Medium & Large Farm Operations, these are the farms that hire the 1500-2000 Central American workers. About 10 per farm.

I am a UVM College of Ag & Life Sci (CALS) grad. I am reasonably conversant with VT's agricultural economy. I have been accused of many things, but naivete is not one.

thisoneisnotasbad t1_j4o15m8 wrote on January 17, 2023 at 1:43 AM

That is “kinda” right. There are *about 600 dairy farm organizations. While the number has decreased it is because the large farms have bought out and consolidated so there are nearly the same number of locations (farms), just owned by fewer people.

There are also over 600 CSFO and closer to 900 is you get rid of the Certified status. *may have been 1200, I didn’t pay attention to that number.

I just saw these numbers last week.

*here’s a modern article which confirms the 1200 migrant number. https://energynews.us/2021/05/03/in-vermont-a-new-model-emerges-to-improve-migrant-farmworker-housing/

** you being naive has nothing to do with number of farms, vs lfo/mfo/sfo and much more to do with your comment that white people can’t handle farm work where over 50% of the farm labor in the state is white people.