BERLIN (AP) — Two planes carrying Eastern European farmhands arrived Thursday in Germany as an ambitious government program to import thousands of seasonal agricultural workers got underway amid strict precautions to protect both the laborers and the country from the new coronavirus.
We are probably going to see a real problem as we get into the growing season throughout the US…a lot of the immigrant workers may not be here, they may have fled or been locked out of the nation by Trump. Without them, the US farm industry can’t manage the food supply, and it is unlikely that the millions of people who have just been unemployed are going to take their place. It’s way past time to deal with the reality of how immigrant workers (undocumented or not) are integrated into our economy, and how to make sure that they become a robust part instead of working in the shadows.
Handpicked fruits and vegetables will rot in many fields thanks to Trumplethinskin. Shortages have been predicted for some time. This isn’t going to be pretty, because supply versus demand for fresh produce is going to increase the price.
And none of this had to happen. Heckuvajob, MangoMan.
And all of this was proven in Georgia and Alabama in 2011.
The beauty of the fiasco Georgia and Alabama is that it was a totally and completely self-inflicted disaster brought on by their own abject racism. The adage “You reap what you sow” has never been more appropriate.
Asparagus – specifically, white asparagus – is a Big Deal in Germany, and it requires a lot of manual labor, first to make sure the asparagus shoots are completely covered in their mounds of dirt while they grow, and then to harvest them.
https://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/qualities-german-asparagus/
If any other country were doing this, it would be a disaster in the making. Still might.
Yup. The season’s on here — we had our first Spargel last weekend and we’re having it for Easter as well. Cannot be harvested by machine, as you have to look for tiny breaks in the sand covering the stalks where the shoots (planted 8-10 inches below the surface) are starting to break through. Then you stick in a tool that looks like half a crow bar to pull the stalk out from its base.
Love the stuff. It grows near my job and I get it directly from the farmer. Who has a Rube Goldberg-y machine that peels it for me (another labor intensive job otherwise).
With drawn butter and hollandaise sauce - boiled potatoes and ham.
Well, we’ve been pretty good here with testing and stuff so I am sure there are protocols in place.
Right now we have almost exactly the same number of verified cases as France, but 1/5 the death rate. Hospitals in southern Germany are having capacity problems, but less in the north so they’ve sent some folks up there.
My institute just expanded our home office (Heimarbeit) for another two weeks to 24 April. Reassessment after the Easter holidays…
I miss Spargelzeit.
Not that I have much cause for complaint about fresh produce, living on California’s Central Coast. Watsonville strawberries, Castroville artichokes … mmmm.
Yeah, I lived for years just a couple of miles from Schwetzingen, the “Spargel Capital” – now we’re a bit further north, but the right kind of sandy soil here too. We stuff ourselves on it until we can’t see it any more, but then the season is over until next year. You can usually find some flown in from other places, but the local stuff is the best – about as big around as your thumb. Costs a bomb, but, oh, man, yum!
Of course, we also have local wines to go with it…a thriving agriculural corner here, couple of really nice big farmer’s markets.
Ah. South of my old neck of the woods. The big agricultural thing I remember is Federweisse…
Here we have both Federweisser and Federroter…because we have red wines here too.
And, of course, the Zwiebelkuchen to go with them! Ah, fall. Every season something to look forward to!