Local farmers had the chance to sit down for coffee and bagels with their congressman and county executive on the first two Saturdays in April, to air their concerns on a range of issues.
The breakfast meetings were hosted by Long Island Farm Bureau.
Last week, farmers focused on immigration issues in their sit-down with Rep. Lee Zeldin at the farm bureau’s office in Calverton. This morning, they discussed the impacts of regulations and slow bureaucratic processes that farmers told County Executive Steve Bellone impede their ability to do business.
Immigration issues are a perennial topic at the annual breakfast with the congressman hosted by the farm bureau. Most local farmers rely on immigrant workers to plant, maintain and harvest their crops. There is a temporary work visa available for agricultural workers, but the federal government is too slow in processing applications, farmers and growers say.
“All you need is for the Department of Labor to do what they’re supposed to do — to just do their job,” Bob Pospischil, president of Bissett Nursery, told Zeldin.
“We start our process in August for spring,” Pospischil said. All the paperwork has been filed for the 24 workers his company brings in every year, he said. Now, it’s a waiting game.
The Department of Labor must interview each worker before issuing the visa. “They won’t do the interviews. They’re supposed to be here by April 1,” Pospischil said. “They haven’t even scheduled the interviews yet. That’s almost 20 percent of my work force. What am I supposed to do?”
Farm Bureau administrative director Rob Carpenter said farmers often turn to undocumented laborers to fill their needs. Nearly 50 percent of all Long Island farmers report doing so.
“It’s forcing you down roads you don’t want to go down,” Pospischil said.
Zeldin said “a statutory fix is not the fix for this year.” He said he’s hopeful broken immigration system can be addressed in phases.
“Let’s get done the things everyone can agree on,” he said, rather than attempt to address the controversial and complex problem in one block.
Photo: Denise Civiletti
At this morning’s get-together with the county executive at Greenport Harbor Brewery in Peconic, discussion centered on dealing with regulations and bureaucracy in county government, especially in the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.
“We make it clear we want them to problem-solve and work with people to get things done as quickly as possible,” Bellone told the group of about 20 people.
Some present described difficulties and delays with the health department and also the Suffolk County Water Authority.
John Condzella of Condzella Hops in Wading River said it is sometimes difficult to get a timely response or even a call-back.
Carpenter said he’d like the county agencies to acknowledge that farm operations are not like all other commercial operations. They’re currently subject to the same regulations as all other commercial enterprises and it’s often overkill — and cost-prohibitive, Carpenter said.
He said an example of that is the situation with 8 Hands Farm in Cutchogue being required to extend a public water main about 1,300 feet — at a cost of about $70,000 — instead of being allowed to drill a well on site to serve a kitchen for processing cheese and other farm products.
Current regulations regarding well-drilling date back to a time “when scientists were using slide rules to calculate” water supply, said Vito Minei of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.
“I love the idea of carving out special rules for agriculture. I support 100 percent what you do. It’s absolutely vital to Suffolk County,” Bellone said.
