Labor, Water, and California Agriculture in 2014

Over half of the workers employed on US crop farms have been unauthorized since the mid-1990s. Congress is considering two approaches to legalize the hired farm work force, legalization of unauthorized farm workers to be immigrants and new guest worker programs (Senate), and legalization to guest worker and new guest worker programs (House).

California is in its third consecutive year of drought, and both federal and state water projects announced zero allocations for water buyers south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta. What is the impact of reduced water supplies on farmers, farm workers and communities, and what are the longer term implications of the water status quo?

We are grateful to the Gifford Center, Giannini Foundation, the Liquid Sugars Endowment, and the Temporary Migration Cluster for their support of this conference, as well as the UCD Agricultural Issues Center and the Immigration Law Association. 

Click here to register. For more information, please contact Philip Martin.