Thursday, June 21, 2007 - New Mexico farmers are seeing the effects of the border crackdown first-hand. 

The push for immigration reform is creating a shortage of field workers.

The shortage is a serious problem for New Mexico farmers whose crops can only be harvested by field laborers.

"We're dealing with product that's extremely perishable and if we cannot maintain a harvest schedule, then we're going to lose our crop," says crop grower Chris Franzoy and adds that he only has about half of the laborers needed to keep up with buyers' demands. He blames slow immigration reform and wants lawmakers to find a fast solution.

"We're facing a crisis. I don't think that our legislation is moving fast enough," says Franzoy. 

The foreman at one New Mexico farm we visited told us the number of laborers showing up to work on the fields is decreasing. The worker shortage is prompting farmers to consider higher pay.

Without more helping hands, the farmers may have to consider growing crops that can be harvested by machines.