National
In an area know for its rich mucklands that are perfect for growing onions, a sign reminds about the 76th annual Onion Festival in Elba, New York. The nearby Torrey farms have been shifting more of her acreage from specialty vegetables, such as onions, which require a lot of field labor, to field corn, which requires only a few workers per acre. She's doing so due to increasing shortages of skilled field laborers - mainly from Mexico - due to immigration reform. Torrey wants the U.S. to enact comprehensive immigration reform and create a workable guest labor program that allows more undocumented workers.
MCT
Maureen Torrey sits on a tractor at the Torrey Farms in Elba, New York, June 28, 2012. Torrey, vice president of Torrey Farms, an 11th-generation family farm that covers more than 10,000 acres in upstate New York, has been shifting more of her acreage from specialty vegetables, which require a lot of field labor, to field corn, which requires only a few workers per acre. She's doing so because of increasing shortages of skilled field laborers - mainly from Mexico - due to immigration reform and other factors. Torrey wants the U.S. to enact comprehensive immigration reform and create a workable guest labor program that allows more undocumented workers. (Michael Okoniewski/MCT)
MCT
Maureen Torrey stands amongst growing feed corn plants with her neice Jordyn Torrey at the Torrey Farms in Elba, New York, June 28, 2012. Torrey, vice president of Torrey Farms, an 11th-generation family farm that covers more than 10,000 acres in upstate New York, has been shifting more of her acreage from specialty vegetables, which require a lot of field labor, to field corn, which requires only a few workers per acre. She's doing so because of increasing shortages of skilled field laborers - mainly from Mexico - due to immigration reform and other factors. Torrey wants the U.S. to enact comprehensive immigration reform and create a workable guest labor program that allows more undocumented workers. (Michael Okoniewski/MCT)
MCT
Maureen Torrey stands amongst growing feed corn plants at the Torrey Farms in Elba, New York, June 28, 2012. Torrey, vice president of Torrey Farms, an 11th-generation family farm that covers more than 10,000 acres in upstate New York, has been shifting more of her acreage from specialty vegetables, which require a lot of field labor, to field corn, which requires only a few workers per acre. She's doing so because of increasing shortages of skilled field laborers - mainly from Mexico - due to immigration reform and other factors. Torrey wants the U.S. to enact comprehensive immigration reform and create a workable guest labor program that allows more undocumented workers.
MCT
Maureen Torrey talks with neice Jordyn Torrey near new grain bins used to process feed corn at the Torrey Farms in Elba, New York, June 28, 2012. Torrey, vice president of Torrey Farms, an 11th-generation family farm that covers more than 10,000 acres in upstate New York, has been shifting more of her acreage from specialty vegetables, which require a lot of field labor, to field corn, which requires only a few workers per acre. She's doing so because of increasing shortages of skilled field laborers - mainly from Mexico - due to immigration reform and other factors. Torrey wants the U.S. to enact comprehensive immigration reform and create a workable guest labor program that allows more undocumented workers.
MCT
Farm laborers hand weed an onion field at the Torrey Farms in Elba, New York, June 28, 2012. Torrey, vice president of Torrey Farms, an 11th-generation family farm that covers more than 10,000 acres in upstate New York, has been shifting more of her acreage from specialty vegetables, which require a lot of field labor, to field corn, which requires only a few workers per acre. She's doing so because of increasing shortages of skilled field laborers - mainly from Mexico - due to immigration reform and other factors. Torrey wants the U.S. to enact comprehensive immigration reform and create a workable guest labor program that allows more undocumented workers.
MCT
Jordyn Torrey holds an onion plant at the Torrey Farms in Elba, New York. Her aunt, Maureen Torrey, vice president of Torrey Farms, an 11th-generation family farm that covers more than 10,000 acres in upstate New York, has been shifting more of her acreage from specialty vegetables, which require a lot of field labor, to field corn, which requires only a few workers per acre. She's doing so because of increasing shortages of skilled field laborers - mainly from Mexico - due to immigration reform and other factors. Torrey wants the U.S. to enact comprehensive immigration reform and create a workable guest labor program that allows more undocumented workers.
MCT
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