BUSINESS SECTION

By Lisa Hoffman
Scripps Howard News Service
July 28, 2005

The son of a migrant farmworker, Henry Vega is now a successful figure in Ventura County, Calif., where he is first vice president of the local farm bureau.

That is no small post in a county that hosts a $1 billion agricultural industry. Vega, 43, owns a 65-acre lemon orchard and a farmworker-contracting company in Santa Paula.

As such, he is representative of the rise of Hispanic farmers in America, where they now make up the fastest-growing segment of farm and ranch operators across the land.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, their numbers have more than doubled in the last decade. Every state has registered an increase, with New England seeing the biggest jump. States with the most Hispanic farmers are Texas, California, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado.

"Historically, there have been pockets of Hispanics working in the fields as migrant workers for years, but now we are finding that this group plays a bigger role in the agricultural industry," said Hector Flores, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

To be sure, the overall numbers remain a small shadow on America's agricultural map. Of the more than 3 million U.S. farmers, only about 50,600, or 2 percent, are Latinos.

Even so, the population has reached a sufficient size to lead to the creation of the Association of Latino/Hispanic Farmers and Ranchers, a newly formed group that will hold its first national conference Aug. 25-28 in Las Cruces, N.M.

Agriculture experts cite a number of factors that have contributed to the growing Hispanic farm presence, which are predominantly family farms.

Unlike their counterparts in other demographic groups, Latino farmers are far less dependent on government or bank loans, which has left them without the crushing debt that has driven many smaller operators to sell and get out of the business. Their farms also are true family endeavors, where relatives work long hours together and pool resources.

"Hispanics tend to be very entrepreneurial. You like to have your hand out less," Vega said, crediting his father with instilling in him a belief in the worth of hard work.

In some cases, longtime Anglo farmers whose children have left for city jobs are selling their land to the workers _ often Hispanic _ who have labored long and hard on the farms for years.

Vega and others said Latino farmers, who tend to have relatively small operations, also have a tradition of growing diverse crops so that a price drop for one doesn't bring doom.

They also have been beneficiaries of America's expanding Latino population, which has brought a booming market for fruits and vegetables like those they ate in the "old country." Recognizing that mainstream America's palate also is broadening, some Latino farmers are taking advantage of new demand for specialty produce and organic products.

Because of these trends and the growth in Hispanic ownership, association president Rudy Arredondo said it is time "to set an agenda for the Latino farmers instead of being on others' coattails." At least 150 farmers and ranchers are members of the group so far.

Part of a migrant-worker family, Arredondo as a child picked cotton, potatoes, sugar beets, cherries and asparagus in a circuit around the country.

He went on to become a founding figure in the United Farm Worker movement, and now, at 63, is turning his organizing skills to forming an association that can wield influence to level the field for Hispanics in such critical areas as obtaining loans and subsidies from banks and government programs, as well as marketing products and securing water rights.

On another track, some Hispanic farmers have sued the federal Agriculture Department, alleging they have been victims of the same racial discrimination that black farmers have endured in the granting of loans. Black farmers won a landmark legal settlement in 1999 when the department acknowledged a historical pattern of bias and vowed to make things right.

Arredondo said his organization hopes that it can develop a collegial, mutually beneficial relationship with federal agriculture officials, and has invited Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to the conference.

"We would like to work with the (Agriculture Department) rather than take an adversarial approach," Arredondo said.

(Contact Lisa Hoffman at HoffmanL@shns.com)  

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