getting free farm labor

college interns seem a better alternative to illegal alien labor , sure they are inexperience but they should make up for sime of that in communication skills, ability to learn and are far less likely to be disease carriers.

they are also more likely to look at the way somthing is done and wonder why it isn't done differently, having them do it your way for several days first then letting them test their idea under controls , you may end up answering a lot of questions but it could be a good learning experience for both of you , and you are contributing to the knowledge of american youth , a good service in it's self.

if we never educate new people and only take experienced help we will run out of help one day , or alienate a generation yes time is money to some extent, but i am sure you have many tasks that could be taught in a few minutes mucking a stall isn't rocket science , neither it hoeing a row , or feeding , sure there are formulas that may need to be followed and schedules to keep up but if it is all in your head think where your family will be when you kick the bucket .yes limiting who operates heavy equiptment or drives may be a good idea.

I am that very someone.

And I still think it is an excellent idea.

I visited with the interns there on several different occasions. And I visited with several past interns from there - they all cherish the experience.

Yes, there are farms where minimum wage is not enough to work there.

And there are farms where getting a bit of a stipend is fine for working there.

And there are farms where it is such a cool place to be, it turns out that interns are willing to pay to be there. The interns are happy, and the farmers are happy.

Look at the video. There are two people that are talking to the crowd. Those two have each paid to be there for two years. Do they look like they are suffering? They are free to leave at any time. And they are quite knowledgeable.

Free labor is out there. For the right farmer.

__________________
.

[raising chickens] [diatomaceous earth] [permaculture] [rocket mass heater] [lawn care]

.

not every immigrant is some poor schmuck who is covered in disease and is making us all sick. probably very few are bringing in the problems that you are alluding too. just like not every intern will work out because they wont want to do the dirty work of running a farm, once the shine wears off. painting anything with such a broad brush just makes you sound intolerant... everything has a price, nothing is free. whether it is physical, mental or emotional.. free labor means that you have people working on your farm that may or may not feel like doing things your way. and since they are working for you for free, what is keeping them there? A fairly paid, valued employee is worth the price of 10 freebies no matter where they come from.

This all needs a great big dose of "it depends"

I've had some interns that were worth far more than some employees.

I've had some folks demand big money and then it turns out that they have no idea what they are doing, nor can they take direction.

There are a lot of rather excellent folks out there. And some of them are willing to work for free. And, of course, there are a lot of loafers out there - some of whom insist on getting paid, and some of whom are comfortable not getting paid.

Good free labor is out there. But it takes the right kind of farmer offering the right kind of situation and guidance to have the whole thing end up working out for the farmer and the interns.

__________________
.

[raising chickens] [diatomaceous earth] [permaculture] [rocket mass heater] [lawn care]

.

Perhaps the topic was unfortunitly labeled. I have expended energy for no charge to learn, and I think most others have also. It is a form of barter....you help me raise vegetables and in the process you can learn the techniques. This should be no offense to the skilled laborer or the migrant. It is obvious that a skilled laborer is going to outperform these students, and that a migrant farm worker needs to make a liveable wage. To somehow imply that students bartering to learn is somehow immoral is not only ludicrous, it is un-American.

When I was in college I worked in an engineering laboratory, we did research for GM, I did a lot of work, and was paying to go to school.

__________________
Catholic Militant

Sounds like it would work as well as those wwoofers or whatever they were called. You don't get something for nothing--

If there was some type of farming that I was really interested in learning the in's & out's of I would have no problem doing it for free to gain the needed experience . Seems to me it would be a win , win situation for both parties . Usually people have to pay to learn any worthwhile trade . What's so different about farming ? I have been considering approaching a man in my area that has a welding shop & offering to pay to be taught basic welding skills . I know he doesn't have the time to neglect his shop so I would be willing to work there & pay for the privilege to learn what I want to know .