LULAC National Convention Addresses Agricultural Concerns.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) announced its support to bring awareness of Hispanic contributions to the agricultural industry. A Hispanic Farmers & Ranchers seminar, featuring Carol House, Associate Administrator, National Agriculture Statistics Service; Paul Gutierrez, State Director, Rural Development, New Mexico; Ken Johnson, Acting Director, Center for Minority Farmers, Office of Outreach and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights; and Rick Lopez, State Executive Director, USDA Farm Service Agency, New Mexico discussed issues affecting this industry which has experienced a 215 percent growth in the last 20 years.

According to the USDA, the number of Hispanic farmers and ranchers more than doubled in one decade. In fact, in 1982, there were only 16,183 Hispanic-owned ranches or farms. By 2002, 50,592 were accounted for. “Historically, there have been pockets of Hispanics working in the fields as migrant farm workers for years, but now, we are finding that this group plays a bigger role in the agricultural industry,” said Hector Flores, president of LULAC. Census 2000 reported that 90 percent of Hispanic farms are owned by a family or an individual. Moreover, the top ten states with Hispanic farmers are Texas, California, New Mexico, Florida, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Idaho and Michigan.

“Traditionally, Hispanic agricultural workers have faced extremely undesirable work conditions. LULAC has continuously sought to abolish those inequities by requiring all employers of agriculture related workers to furnish workers’ compensation benefits, including overtime pay, for all employees,” added Flores.

The USDA, in an attempt to improve opportunities for Hispanics, established the USDA’s Office of Minority and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Assistance (MSDA), to encourage representation of minority and socially disadvantaged farmers. Through those efforts, millions of dollars in grants have been earmarked to educate and help enable minorities to own, operate and retain farms and ranches.