The seasonal work force in Eastern Washington churns constantly. As field workers gain English skills and legal work papers, many move into better jobs as orchard foremen and packinghouse workers. Or they leave agriculture - creating a void to be filled by a new wave of workers. About 100,000 migrant and seasonal farmworkers labor in Yakima, Franklin and Grant counties from April through the end of October, according to estimates by Alice Larson, an expert on Washington farm-labor demographics. That press of workers, whether here for a season or for life, brings an equal press for services.
Agricultural areas post some of the highest percentages of students enrolled in bilingual education.
All but one of her students moved here from Mexico within the past year. When the first snow fell last winter, they all rushed to the classroom windows. Some came from villages so remote they had to be taught that toilet paper can and should be flushed, and that there is plenty of hot water for washing their hands. The Yakima Valley Farmworkers Clinic in Toppenish sees a 40 percent increase in demand for health, dental and social services during the peak agricultural months. You see things like TB, parasites, a tremendous amount of diabetes and asthma.