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Link to the article reprinted in the Vancouver Columbian

April 18, 2025

By Larissa Babiak, Tri-City Herald

Eltopia, WA -- During the first weeks of spring, farm workers begin arriving at Schreiber Farms before the sun rises. 

Together in a parking lot, they get their assignments for the day — they’ll either cut asparagus or plant seedlings for the next eight hours. 

This year, it may be harder than usual for farms to hire enough workers for the back-torturing tasks. 

Farm owner Alan Schreiber has heard from farm workers who are fearful about President Donald Trump’s stance on immigration and the threat of mass deportations. 

Each of his workers submit their Social Security card and Washington driver’s license as required for federal I-9 forms for employees. I-9 forms confirm the worker’s identity and authorization to work in the U.S. 

But he and other growers are concerned about the chilling affect of the new federal immigration policies and if they’ll be able to recruit and retain workers in an industry already long suffering with labor shortages. 

So far, Washington farmers say that it’s too early to tell the actual impact. 

As an experienced grower, Schreiber is accustomed to worker shortages and the high costs of agriculture labor, especially for smaller farming operations. 

Relying on a current team of about 45 workers, Schreiber said his number of laborers this year is “tight but adequate” at this point in the season. 

Schreiber, who also serves as the executive director of the Washington Asparagus Commission and the Washington Blueberry Commission, said he’s heard from other growers who say they currently are finding enough workers. 

Food production largely depends on work done by immigrants — from pruning, planting and harvesting to processing, packing and distribution. 

A report by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy estimated that in 2020, 70% of U.S. farm workers were born outside the U.S., 64% did not have U.S. citizenship and 44% were undocumented. 

“Farms are having a really hard time being sustainable right now,” Worker and Farm Labor Association CEO Enrique Gastelum told the Tri-City Herald. 

“If we have immigration policies that are going to create widespread reductions in the available workforce of farm workers, it could have far-reaching, detrimental impacts to both farms and the farm worker community — crop loss and inability to farm.” F

Rows and rows of asparagus 

Asparagus is the first crop harvested in Washington. Harvest season runs from April to November. 

At Schreiber Farms about 15 miles north of Pasco, green and purple asparagus spears shoot up from the ground in four fields in Eltopia and Basin City. 

It is harvested seven days a week for the next 60-70 days. 

After driving out to the fields, small groups of asparagus cutters sharpen their knives and start cutting. They stoop and squat as they slice through stalks of asparagus, one at a time. 

Asparagus harvest requires time, skill and physically demanding labor — farm workers bend down and cut each stalk by hand at its base. Once they’ve collected a handful, they’ll quickly chop the ends off the bunch and collect the stalks in a plastic bucket at their sides. 

Later in the season, workers will use headlamps to light their way in the dark, so asparagus is harvested before sunrise when temperatures are still cool. 

Schreiber’s asparagus is processed locally and mostly sold in the Northwest, including Canada. 

Arturo Mendoza is the farm manager at Schreiber Farms. He’s worked for Schreiber for more than 20 years. 

He and his assistant, Janet Mendoza, help recruit farm workers to Schreiber Farms each year. Janet is Arturo’s niece — as a farm worker, she cleaned and processed produce at Schreiber Farms. For four years now, she’s helped Arturo with hiring. 

Schreiber also works with a labor contractor to hire local farm workers. 

To prepare for start of asparagus harvest, Arturo and Janet were busy searching for available workers. They posted fliers in laundromats, grocery stores and other businesses in the Tri-Cities area, and relied on current workers to share information with others. Potential employees would then call Arturo. 

It took weeks, but Arturo and Janet were able to secure a solid group of farm workers for the asparagus harvest. 

Farm labor done by immigrants 

Schreiber can point out men and women who’ve worked at his farm for 10-25 years, including workers who started when Schreiber Farms began operating in 1999. 

Some farm workers immigrated from the same town in Mexico and work alongside sisters, brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts. 

Most of them are local domestic workers who provide year-round agriculture labor for various crops in the Tri-Cities region. They live in Pasco, Basin City or Othello. 

“Our asparagus harvest is 100% cut by immigrants,” Schreiber said. 

“Fresh blueberries are mostly hand-picked and are overwhelmingly picked by immigrants. Apples (are) picked by immigrants. Wine grapes (are) picked by immigrants. Onion harvest (is) mostly done by immigrants.” 

The Office of Homeland Security Statistics believes there are more than 340,000 undocumented immigrants in Washington, though Washington’s Employment Security Department does not track the legal status of the state’s agricultural workers. 

“Immigrants feed us and without immigrants, we will not have a food supply,” Schreiber said. “Anyone who eats food or drinks beer and wine should not be advocating for the deportation of farm workers.”

Across the country, farm labor is already scarce — for nearly two decades, there’s been a trend of fewer domestic workers available. 

Older generations have aged out of agricultural work, the number of migrant workers has declined as they’ve settled in communities and not followed the ripening of the crops and people are finding other work outside of agriculture. 

Washington’s farm workers include temporary H-2A guest workers, mostly from Mexico, domestic workers who are year-round residents, and domestic migrant workers who travel within Washington and state-to-state, sometimes from California to Oregon to Washington, or starting in Texas. 

Schreiber relies on local workers because of the high cost of hiring H-2A guest workers. 

At this stage in the season, the farm needs only so many workers to cut asparagus and plant seedlings. 

Schreiber Farms will need more labor to harvest 350 varieties of organic fruits, vegetables and cut flowers that grow on the 200-acre farm. 

At its peak, from mid-July to mid-September, the farm employs around 100 workers. 

Janet predicts that in May and June, when fruits like melons, blueberries and other produce are ripe, the farm may start having a harder time finding laborers. 

Fear among farm workers 

Arturo said in Spanish that in January and February, it was difficult to contact and hire workers in the Tri-Cities area. 

Washington’s immigrant communities have been fearful. Residents learned about recent targeted arrests made by federal immigration agents in the state, including in Sunnyside and Pasco. 

Arturo said that misinformation circulating on social media also stoked their fear. 

Janet remembered her interactions with workers earlier this year. She meets with them to set them up for payroll when they begin work. 

At these meetings, sometimes their body language was tense and defensive — they kept their faces covered and were uncomfortable with having their photos taken for the farm’s documentation. 

Janet said some workers were likely concerned about sharing their personal information and identification. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are allowed to visit farms for an I-9 audit of an employer or to make arrests. ICE agents cannot enter private areas of a farm without permission or a warrant. 

Some farmers in Washington have met with workers to discuss their concerns about immigration enforcement and distributed red cards to workers. The cards list constitutional rights and protections regardless of immigration status. 

Washington immigration rights nonprofits, churches and other organizations share resources in their communities. 

Arturo said that since the start of the year, workers are now more informed and feel less intimidated about immigration policies affecting their ability to work. 

Crisanto Andres, an asparagus cutter at Schreiber Farms, said in Spanish that in his mind, nothing has changed about finding work this year. He feels grateful to be employed. 

Dynamics for small farms 

Washington farms hired more than 110,000 workers in 2022, about 3% of total employment in the state. 

There are nearly 36,000 farms in Washington and close to 90% are small farms that generate less than $250,000 in revenue annually. 

Schreiber said that the cost of labor is typically the biggest challenge for small farms like his. 

As he watches farm workers head out into fields, he pulls up the calculator on his phone, types and holds it up. The number is 32,000 — that’s what he estimates he’ll pay for labor for one 40-hour week this month. 

“Just wait until it’s $100,000 each week,” he said. 

Large tree fruit growers and labor contractors opt to hire H-2A guest workers to sustain seasonal labor. 

But Schreiber said that the H-2A program is not a viable solution for small operations. 

None of Washington’s asparagus growers employ H-2A workers because of the costs and restrictions of the program that would put additional pressure on small farms, Schreiber said. 

To retain workers and stay competitive long term, Schreiber pays farm workers above minimum wage and offers bonuses. He also schedules a paid, 30-minute break at the end of each day called “happy half-hours.” Workers can sit, eat and rest during that time. 

“It is not in our society’s best interest to send back every undocumented worker in this country. Labor-intensive agriculture — fruits, vegetables, nuts and herbs — requires a lot of hand farm labor,” said Schreiber. 

“These people work so hard, they often work in less than ideal conditions and they’re not making a lot of money. They’re going through a lot and their lives are being turned upside down.”