farmers

One of the nation's largest herb producers once relied heavily on undocumented labor, but has learned some hard lessons since an immigration crackdown. He says transitioning to a legal workforce was well worth it, but that navigating a cumbersome foreign worker program has been challenging.

Farmers are mining the sea for salt on the same shore where the salt industry boomed 170 years ago. Fans of local food are buying up the favorite condiment collected close to home.

Many farmers are cheering government proposals to give thousands of seasonal farmworkers a path to legal status. But even if the bill passes, it won't solve the long-term trend of fewer migrants coming north to work on U.S. farms. Farmers will instead have to learn how to do more with less immigrant labor.