Over the past couple of years there have been reports of Valley growers who couldn’t find enough workers to complete a harvest. Farmers say a government crackdown at the U-S/Mexican border is one of the reasons there are periodic shortages. While additional border controls do contribute to the labor shortage, UC Davis professor Phil Martin says his research indicates better paying jobs in the construction industry is a bigger factor. 

"Over the past five years more workers have gotten out of agriculture quicker and one of the places to which they moved was to construction. "

California farm organizations have been lobbying Congress and the Bush administration for a guest worker program that would allow migrants to enter the state during harvests.