May 11, 2020: Asparagus and Bunk Beds -

Some Competing Imperatives whiplash from local news today.  Protect the vulnerable. Keep the local economy afloat. Flatten the curve. Around in circles….

One article reported that Oregon OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Admin) - noting that  COVID-19 has struck farm laborers especially  - has now mandated that migrant workers not be housed in dorms with bunk beds, but rather be allowed to sleep six feet apart. This change was supposed to take place in May, but because it’s going to be hard to implement, it has been pushed to June 1, the traditional start of Oregon’s strawberry season.

Growers say the distancing guidelines mean they will be able to house perhaps one quarter as many folks as usual. So the summer produce season will be interesting, as will fruit and vegetable prices.

And at the same time, in a different publication, good news for local farmers! Apparently northwest asparagus has been struggling in recent years to hold its own against cheaper asparagus shipped in from afar, but Not This Year! This year, local asparagus is having a giant comeback due to supply-chain issues with that cheap-but-distant asparagus. Yay!

But now I’m worrying about where asparagus pickers sleep. This is just the ongoing twitchiness of this pandemic. When I hear good news, I start to worry whether there might be hidden bad news inside of it, whether that deceptive “silver lining” may be at least partly lead.