Valley farmers push Washington for immigration solutions as labor shortage grows

MONTE ALTO — The biggest worry on Rio Farms Inc. General Manager Matt Klostermann’s mind is South Texas’ growing water crisis.

The second biggest worry — only ever so slightly less concerning to Klostermann than the first — is that even if he gets enough water to make a crop he won’t have enough people on hand to harvest it.

Klostermann, like farmers across the nation, is facing a mounting labor shortage, which is how he found himself Wednesday leading Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz and Acting United States Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling on a quick jaunt through the orchards behind Rio Farms’ headquarters, where they were surrounded by a gaggle of press and staff.

De La Cruz and Sonderling had just taken part in a roundtable discussion that included representatives from some of South Texas’ most influential citrus and produce entities and farms.