In article ,

Mechanized: No. Some crops cannot be harvested by machines. If they could,
John Deere would already have machines to do it, and farmers would be
delighted to own them.

Not if there are methods to do so that are cheaper/more available.
There is no incentive to look precisely because the other way is
available. Illegal immigration that is studiously ignored by government
essentially is a subsidy to farmers.
It is Econ 101.

As far as costs rising, you've got that right. I suspect it would be
disastrous, especially for people who already have a hard time affording
decent food. How about $5.00 a pound for lettuce, instead of the usual $1.00
to $3.00? We're already in for a big surprise in the grocery business if oil
keeps rising in price. Three years ago, freight rates were in the range of
$1.25 to $1.50 per mile. Now, they're $1.75 to $2.75, depending on direction
of travel and the availability of backhauls.

How about "Dogs and cats. Living together!" So it is okay if
the illegal immigrants work at slave labor in areas that you suggested
in your last post are chemically dangerous for artificially low wages so
you can save a couple cents on lettuce.