The TechMobility Podcast
Welcome to The TechMobility Podcast, your ultimate source for authentic insights, news, and perspectives at the nexus of mobility and technology. We're all about REAL FACTS, REAL OPINIONS, and REAL TALK! From personal privacy to space hotels, if it moves or moves you, we're discussing it! Our weekly episodes venture beyond the conventional, offering a unique, unfiltered take on the topics that matter. We're not afraid to color outside the lines, and we believe you'll appreciate our bold approach!
The TechMobility Podcast
Making EVs Profitable; Nissan Rogue Rock Creek Review; A Colorado River Update; Immigrants and Your Food
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In this episode, we dive deep into the changing landscape of the automotive and agricultural sectors, revealing how they're interconnected and what it could mean for consumers. Rivian has made headlines with its recent profit reports, marking a significant milestone in its quest to rival established players like Tesla in the electric vehicle market. We explore Rivian's strategic choices that have helped it flourish against all odds, alongside GM's promising path toward profitability as it navigates the intricate world of EV production.
But we don’t stop there. Our conversation shifts to pressing issues in agriculture as we discuss the potential impacts of mass deportations on the industry. As many critical farming roles are filled by immigrants, a decrease in this labor force could spell disaster for the American food supply, leading to skyrocketing prices and scarce produce. We also examine the Colorado River's vital role in sustaining agriculture and its current crisis, which threatens not just the environment but also your grocery bills.
How do these interconnected issues affect us all? Prepare for an informative exploration that challenges our understanding of food production, labor, and the crucial resources we often take for granted. Don’t miss this episode, which combines insights from the automotive industry with significant implications for agriculture, and be sure to join the conversation by subscribing, sharing, and leaving your thoughts!
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Welcome to the Tech Mobility Podcast.
Speaker 2:I'm Ken Chester On the docket, my recent review of the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek SUV a Colorado River update, and why mass deportations will deprive you of fruits and vegetables. To add your voice to the conversation, be it to ask a question, share an opinion or even suggest a topic for future discussion, call or text the TechMobility hotline, that number, 872-222-9793. Or you can email the show directly. Talk at techmobilityshow. Be also sure to like, follow, subscribe our pages on social media, our YouTube channel and our two podcasts, the Tech Mobility Podcast and Tech Mobility Topics From the Tech Mobility News Desk.
Speaker 2:We're going to talk a little business right now, a little automotive business. For those of you that have been following me for some time, and particularly for those of you that said, oh, electric vehicles are a failure, they'll never be a thing. The automakers are going to go broke. Oh, my God. All right, we have reported some upstarts going broke, but what did I tell you? I told you that when the domestic traditional automakers get serious about building EVs and start to scale up meaning starting to build plants and build infrastructure that will support volume, prices will come down. Volumes will go. Volume Prices will come down. Volumes will go up. Sticker prices will come down. I've got two examples for you that I want to talk about, one from Automotive News and the other one from a publication called Automotive Dive and the other one from a publication called Automotive Dive.
Speaker 2:I'm going to start with the one that's least likely that you may not hear a lot about, and we've talked about Rivian. Rivian is probably, honestly, the only real competitor direct competitor that Tesla has, being a pure electric play. They're the ones that bought the old Diamond Star Mitsubishi factory in Normal Illinois. They're also in the process of building a brand new Greenfield plant in Georgia. Let me read you the headline Rivian reports record high gross profit of $170 million in fourth quarter. The company cited improvements in variable costs, higher revenue per vehicle and a reduction in fixed costs. How much a reduction, you might ask? Let me read this Cost cutting led to reducing expenses by $31,000 per vehicle I said per vehicle, I said per vehicle Bringing it closer to achieving its goal of a modest net profit for the first time ever in 2025. This is in spite of a cooling of the EV market. This is in spite of the potential loss of EV credits, tax credits. This is the potential, in the midst of an uncertain political climate for EVs in general.
Speaker 2:How did Rivian do it? A billion dollars from Amazon, $700 million from Ford to start a billion dollars from Amazon, $700 million from Ford to start a contract for 100,000 EV vans for Amazon. And the fact that Rivian then opened up their order book that says anybody that wants to buy one of these commercial vans we're making you can buy it. It's not exclusive to Amazon anymore. And actually the pandemic did Rivian a favor. Rivian was buying expensive electric motors from Bosch, the German supplier, because of supply chain challenges and the Bosch motor was lacking a part they couldn't get because of restrictions during the pandemic, a part they couldn't get because of restrictions during the pandemic. Rivian brought the EV motor manufacturing in-house, adapted one of the motors they were using for the commercial truck division, for their retail division, got the cost down, got the product line up and enabled them actually to improve performance. They also got $5 billion for Volkswagen, which didn't hurt, and they're getting ready to launch a smaller version of their RT R3S, which is their SUV, and R1S and R1T both their SUV and their truck. They're going to build the R2 and the R3. And they said that the R2 should be about half the price of the R1, and that would put it in the high $30,000 range.
Speaker 2:The reason why I say don't bet against them is that right here at this point in Rivian's history, they look like somebody else that we laughed at. Go back 2017, 2018. When Elon Musk said that he was going to launch the Model 3, that they were going to build a half a million of them, and I laughed because at that time, the whole prior 15 years of Tesla history total. Up till then, they hadn't built more than 100,000 cars, and yet they thought they were going to be building a half a million cars a year. Yeah, laughed. They went through production hell. He said it.
Speaker 2:At the end of the day, though, the Model 3 and the Model Y, which is based off of the Model 3, did everything he said it was going to do, and, in fact, the Model Y is one of the most popular EVs in the world based on the Model 3. They scaled up, got costs down. Rivian is right at the cusp of this and, in fact, went as far as saying. The CEO said, and I quote, that the R2 could be a transformational product, as Rivian aims to become a major player in the growing EV segment, and it's coming out the first half of 2026. Not to be outdone, and I've been following these folks for some time and I told you that the way they were going was a masterstroke. And yeah, I'm talking about General Motors.
Speaker 2:Gm's electric vehicles finally earned more than they cost to make. Need to get a little wonky now Put my accounting hat on, because I do have an agree in accounting. Here's what they're talking about. In industrial accounting and cost accounting you have what they call a variable cost and you have the fixed cost. The fixed cost is the overhead and in this case for EVs it would be all the development costs, building factories, all the engineering, all the design. All of that stuff would be fixed cost.
Speaker 2:That gets amortized or spread out across the number of vehicles that they make. Obviously, if you make a hundred cars and you have a thousand dollars worth of cost, then it's one price. If you spread that out over 10,000 cars, the same cost, then it's less per car. In the case of variable costs, this is what's also known as direct cost. This is the materials that go into making it, the labor that goes into making it, the actual cost of making the vehicle. Gm said we are profitable at variable cost. We are covering our variable cost. That means GM's going in the right direction and at the way they're going, it will only be a moment, probably in the next couple of years, where they finally make enough money to cover fixed overhead too, per unit, particularly as they ramp up and make more evs, even in spite of the cooling market.
Speaker 2:Because, remember, gm said that and they did it last year, and with the rate they're going and ramping up and weeding out costs because anybody that knows me I have told you two things. The auto industry is cost, is investment intensive, takes billions of dollars to be in the auto industry and they are laser focused on unit cost. What does it cost to make one vehicle? They are laser focused on getting it down from last year. If it cost them $100 last year, they want it to cost $97 next year and $95 the year after that. That is how they roll and it doesn't matter whether it's an EV, internal combustion engine vehicle, does not matter, doesn't matter, they are laser focused on this Meaning.
Speaker 2:It's only a matter of time the GM becomes profitable, capturing both fixed overhead and variable costs and making a real profit from their EVs. And I told you that would happen. When they launched the Equinox, the Equinox EV told you when they got there it was going to get real. Guess what people? It's getting real and as they find ways to remove cost, as automakers do, the cost of these vehicles will go down. Their profit will go up and they will continue to become more and more competitive. Their profit will go up and they will continue to become more and more competitive. The Nissan Rogue is the automaker's best-selling vehicle in the United States. I spent a week with one to find out why. This is the tech mobility show.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the main place to be these days, and we are no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Facebook videos, from my latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary of a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Facebook. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page. Social media is the place to be these days. We're no exception. I'm ken chester, the tech mobility show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week, shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if Thank you, why own the road? When you can own the whole planet. The Nissan Pathfinder.
Speaker 2:Lease the Nissan Pathfinder XEV6 with zero down payment and $289 a month for 36 months. The Nissan Pathfinder that ad was from 1995. And the Pathfinder is still an integral part of the Nissan lineup SUV lineup even to this day. An incredible vehicle. Back then it was a bit on the small side, but durable. Like so many of the early Japanese pickup trucks and first SUVs based on those pickup trucks that came to the American marketplace, the Pathfinder was no exception. Incredibly durable, incredibly reliable I mean you couldn't kill them. You couldn't kill them and many people owned them for good reason.
Speaker 2:The Nissan Rogue, on the other hand, is a compact crossover SUV that's the automaker's current best-selling vehicle in the United States. The Rogue was first unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit back in January of 2007. The third and current generation of the Rogue debuted in September 2020 for the 2021 model year, riding on the Renault-Nissan CMF-CD platform. The fourth-generation Mitsubishi Outlander is a mechanical sibling. The Nissan crossover SUV received a freshening last year that included a redesigned front and rear fascia. The interior got a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with Google built-in as well. For the purposes of this review, it's limited just to my impressions of the Rogue Rock Creek Edition that bowed for 2025.
Speaker 2:The new model caters to drivers whose lifestyles take them beyond crowds, with striking design and additional capability for journeys that finish past the end of the pavement. Put a pin in that, because we're going to come back and talk about that. It makes a bold splash with a unique gloss black front grille featuring silver accents, a redesigned front fascia featuring lava red accents, gloss black side view mirrors and a tubular roof rack with integrated crossbars, also accented in lava red, contributing to both appearance and capability. Over-read, contributing to both appearance and capability. Rock Creek rolls on 235-65R-17 Falcon Wild Peak all-terrain tires and I call them for real off-roading fitted to 17-inch satin black wheels.
Speaker 2:Standard power for the Rock Creek is a 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline turbo engine that delivers 201 horsepower and 225 foot-pounds of torque. And before I go any further, yes, you heard me three-cylinder turbo, I said it. Power is delivered to all four wheels through an Xtronic, continuously variable automatic transmission with manual shift mode and paddle shifters. Its standard intelligent all-wheel drive system is supplemented by hill descent control, helping drivers maintain a steady speed when going down steep inclines. Four-wheel limited slip and hill start assist are also standard. Epa fuel economy numbers are 27. City 32. Highway Cargo capacity behind the front seats, with the second row folded flat, is 74.1 cubic feet. Towing capacity is 1,500 pounds.
Speaker 2:Here's what I liked about the vehicle. Despite being a large displacement three-cylinder engine, I found the Rogue Rock Creek to be nimble and willing when underway. Since its introduction, I've come to appreciate how the compact crossover SUV has evolved and matured over the years. The driver enjoys a good outward view of the road. Controls displays and switchgear are user-friendly. The motorist has a knob for selection of several drive modes with terrain settings, which include off-road, snow, auto, eco and sport. The standard roof rack has a static weight capability of 220 pounds.
Speaker 2:Interior enhancements include water-repelling, leatherette, seating with unique inserts, lava red access stitching and piano black dashboard trim. Additional enhancements for the Rock Creek also add heated front seats and a 12-volt power outlet in the cargo area and its HD intelligent around-view monitor, which features off-road view, which can operate while driving at speeds up to 12 miles an hour, an invaluable tool for spotting obstacles when maneuvering. Finally, an available premium package adds a touch of luxury to the adventurous spirit of Rogue Rock Creek, with a wireless charging pad, heated steering wheel, four-way power passenger seat, what I call a kick-motion activated power liftgate, memory driver seat and outside mirrors. Reverse tilt-down outside mirrors with integrated turn controls. Auto-dimming rear-view mirror and interior LED accent lighting. Auto-dimming rear view mirror and interior LED accent lighting. Backseat passengers do enjoy good legroom, with dual USB ports, a center armrest and dual cup holders. The 60-40 split rear seat folds flat with the cargo floor. The front center console has been optimized to carry miscellaneous stuff and finally, the best part, because you know me, the spare tire is located inside the vehicle, easily accessible under the cargo area floor, which I think is awesome.
Speaker 2:Here's what I didn't like about the vehicle. First and foremost, nissan. Where's the hybrid version? The Rock Creek lacks a head-up display and fog lights Serious considerations if you really plan to take this one off-road. And although the rear doors open wide and I mean 90 degrees wide, its high step-in height requires the use of hand grips, which it doesn't have. I found the Rock Creek doesn't like strong crosswinds either when underway, and I found that generally the ride quality varied between comfortable and fidgety. It just did. And I found that generally the ride quality varied between comfortable and fidgety. It just did. There are no tow hooks and while the fuel economy is decent, it should be better for its size, particularly now. Here's the bottom line. I understand why the Rogue is Nissan's best seller. It does have a lot to offer, although it's not for everyone. And, interestingly enough, if you're really serious about taking this one off-road, you're going to need to spend more money for accessories like proper exterior lighting and tow hooks, to name a few. And oh yeah, its road ride quality should be better.
Speaker 2:The base manufacturer suggested retail price for the 2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek starts from $35,420. Destination chargers add $1,390. Msrp is tested. Options added by the manufacturer include Rock Creek Premium Package, premium Exterior Paint, Rock Creek All-Season Cargo, air Prot season cargo, air protector, floor liners and first aid kit. And frameless rear view mirror with universal remote. Total cost of the options came to two thousand eighty dollars. Total msrp included added options and destination charges came to thirty eight thousand eight hundred ninety dollars.
Speaker 2:It's been a while since I've driven a Rogue and for the most part, like I said, I really like it, although I've got the tires for off-road, I've got the drive modes for off-road, but I don't have everything that I would need to feel safe off-road. Simply because, if you don't think you're going to need tow hooks, trust me, you're going to need them if you're serious about going way off road. Would have been nice to have a hybrid version, though, and I think this is part of the larger challenge that Nissan is having right now. Even though they pioneered one of the first EVs on the road, the Leaf, they got behind and they're playing hard catch up, and it's really sad because I think that Rock Creek with a hybrid version would be awesome, not to mention everything they could do going there.
Speaker 2:Time will tell if we get one, but I got to tell you that base engine a three-cylinder, imagine is actually pretty impressive, and 200 horsepower who would have thought it from a three-cylinder Pretty cool. It's time for a Colorado River update. Here's a hint Things are getting much worse.
Speaker 2:This is the Tech Mobility Show. Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you've missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility Podcast just about anywhere you can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility Podcast in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts Social media it's the place to be. We're no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show.
Speaker 2:Several times a week, I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out.
Speaker 2:Recent actions by the administration to freeze funds may impact the ability of the Colorado River to deliver water to over 40 million people in seven states, as we reported over the years. The river is a lifeline of ranches, farms and population centers alike. Climate change has been drying up the flow and several years ago a level one water emergency was declared, forcing the many stakeholders to the table in order to renegotiate water rights for less water than they were currently entitled. As you can imagine, that hasn't gone so well. This is topic B, the Colorado River. I used to talk about it a lot and we got away from it for a while, but I thought it was time to kind of revisit because they are coming to a very critical stage. As we reported a few years back, they reached what they call a Tier 1 water emergency. What that meant is the water in the upper reservoir of Lake Powell had to be released. Water in the upper reservoir of Lake Powell had to be released down to the lower reservoir, the lower pool, lake Mead, in order to meet the demands that they've already been committed to. Problem is that area has been subject to a mega drought now over 20 years, has been subject to a mega drought now over 20 years. And, worse yet, the original agreement, because stakeholders sat down over 100 years ago and hammered out an agreement to divvy up the water from the Colorado and that plan was doomed almost from day one. Arizona was a late signer to that party down the road afterwards and it's considered a junior partner.
Speaker 2:The problem is that Tier 1 water emergency triggered an agreement that required, or triggered a requirement, that the stakeholders had to get together to determine cuts in water usage of 5%. That doesn't seem a lot, but bear in mind the river was overextended with the current agreements. People needed more water than the Colorado was delivering under the current agreements. That was before the water emergency. With the water emergency, you're now telling all the stakeholders you've got to cut your water use by 5%. And that's everybody Companies, factories, fields, towns, cities Got to cut it by 5%. Okay, who's going to take the cut and who's going to take the brunt? Arizona, early on, promised their cities you will not take the brunt of any cuts we got to make. So you know who that falls on the farmers.
Speaker 2:Here's what you may not realize. A lot of the fruits and vegetables that are grown in the United States grow in what they call the Imperial Valley of California. The Imperial Empire is referred to by some. Those lush fields are irrigated with Colorado River water Farms in Arizona. Colorado River water Farms in Arizona, colorado River water. If it don't snow in the front range in Colorado, if they don't get the moisture, or if things are so dry that when you do get a snowpack, the ground absorbs it between where the snowpack is in the river. So the river still doesn't get anything. You got a problem. Guess what we got a problem.
Speaker 2:What people don't realize is why should you care about the Colorado River? Well, first of all, other than it being a canary in the coal mine, for what's going on with climate change, if you're a person who likes your fresh fruits and vegetables enjoy a watermelon, you enjoy peaches and you enjoy pears, and you enjoy apples and a host of other fruits and vegetables then the inability of the Colorado River to be used by farmers to irrigate their crops means smaller crops and, for some farmers, no crops, and that means driving the price up at the store. Why did the federal freeze impact Colorado River? Why did the federal freeze impact Colorado River? Well, the previous administration wanted to retain as much water as possible in the river. Why? Well, in addition to providing water for all those sources, the Colorado River is a major source of hydroelectric power from Lake Mead and Lake Powell. And if the river pool, if the pool in the reservoir drops much lower, those hydroelectric plants can't run, and if they get real low. The river can't flow and that has dire consequences. They're getting that level of close and that's the problem.
Speaker 2:The federal government, seeing this, realizing that you just can't tell farmers stop planting, stop using the water, because it affects them financially, the federal government was actually paying certain stakeholders not to use the water. Leave the water in the river so other things can function for the good of everybody. That bill, the bill in question, allocated $4 billion to be spread out amongst the stakeholders to make that happen, and it was working. It was working. It was really buying them time one to develop strategies for a drier future, others to make farmers whole who wasn't planting at the levels they were planting because the water was not sufficient to support everybody. So that was working.
Speaker 2:What's happening now is those freezers are affecting deals already made, contracts already signed, commitments already in force, and while a lot of that money for this year has already been allocated, already checks have been cut. A lot of folks have them. They're looking towards the next year. Will this freeze be permanent? Will it be able to count on this money? If not, what does that mean for the smaller cities and towns? What does that mean for the smaller providers? Who is counting on this money? What does that mean for the smaller nonprofits that are looking at improving water quality and looking at conservation situations in tributaries and other things that feed the Colorado? It's a big deal. Now take the Colorado and multiply that towards every major water source in the United States, every major river, and, yes, yes, the Colorado does go through desert.
Speaker 2:But climate change is real and these patterns are changing. Now let me clarify, because some people say well, you know, no, man, climate change, you know. You say it's causing the weather. No, hold it, stop. Let me explain this. You still have swings in weather. You always will have nothing to do with climate change. What climate change is doing because of man-made activity is making number one the extreme weather we do get from Mother Nature more extreme and because of climate change more often. So, yes, no, it didn't cause extreme weather. We had that before. We're going to have it in the future. What it is doing, however, is causing more extreme weather more often. It's worse and it's happening more often than it should.
Speaker 2:$4 billion If farmers can't get that money, what are they going to do? They're going to plant and they're going to try to get water, if everybody's trying to get water from the Colorado that can't deliver it. Hydroelectric plants stop running. That starts messing with the economy and the whole Southwest and the dominoes start to fall and it gets ugly real fast. And yet the stakeholders can't come to an agreement on what to do because nobody wants to blink and nobody wants to give up their water. The hard brack-baking jobs of farm work and food production in the United States is mostly done by immigrants. Mass deportation may change all that.
Speaker 2:We are the Tech Mobility Show. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobilityshow. Did you know that Tech Mobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Each week I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech.
Speaker 3:Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out All in one place and for one price. Here's the best part you can endure a 30-day free trial. It's time to simplify your life and boost your productivity. Aonmeetingscom, where innovation meets connection Get started today and revolutionize the way you communicate.
Speaker 2:Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar Field work, processing plants, construction, hospitality services.
Speaker 2:Most of this work has been done by immigrants, often because employers are unable to attract Americans to the jobs. So what happens when they're all gone? This is topic C. When I was a kid in New England, I worked for a produce farm and they had an apple orchard. And in October, when the Macintosh and Cortland apples ripened and Cortland apples ripened, through to our orchard came a traveling crew of Jamaican apple pickers and in three or four days they had the orchard picked. They went to the next orchard. They weren't American citizens. They came through, did the job. They're gone.
Speaker 2:Some of the hardest brack picking work picking lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, beans, you name it. Most Americans don't want to do that kind of work for the kind of money that farmers are willing to pay them. And oh, yeah, that chicken you're enjoying. Who is the point of process that de-plucks the chicken and carves it up? And all of that, or even the meat that you enjoy, be it hamburger or choice cuts or wherever who do you think is doing that work? Do you think that Americans are lining up for long hours in meat processing plants and the hot heat, or in the fields? Nope, who's doing your landscaping work? Who's framing your new house? Yeah, regardless where you are on immigration and I'm not arguing that today what I'm talking about is the financial impact of these people not being here. There was a study done about 10, 15 years ago on just home construction that without the number of immigrants in basic home construction that's framing and pouring concrete and doing landscaping, the average cost of a new house without them would go up 30%. This was 10 to 15 years ago.
Speaker 2:Walk down any grocery store in America and you see. Go to their produce department and you'll see limes, lemons, tomatoes, a variety of different oranges, you'll see apples of different varieties, you will see potatoes, all of that stuff. If they can't automate it, then it's getting picked by human hands someplace and it's a problem. It is a total problem. Let me give you some context.
Speaker 2:According to estimates from the Center for Migration Studies, over 8 million illegal immigrants work in the US economy about 5% of the workforce, 5% of the workforce. Some of the highest totals of undocumented migrants work in construction 1.5 million Restaurants, 1 million. Agriculture 320,000. Landscaping 300,000. And in food processing and manufacturing, 200,000 folk.
Speaker 2:John Walt Boatwright, director of Government Affairs for the American Farm Bureau, said that immigrants play an important role in the food supply chain and I quote him agriculture and our economy rely on foreign workers to put food on the table. Boatwright said it is widely accepted that the immigration system must be fixed, but solutions should ensure that vital industries like farming, processing, distribution and food services are not harmed by unintended consequences. And in case you were wondering, migrant workers are important to Florida's agricultural industry. It is estimated that 37 to 47 percent of Florida's agricultural workforce are non-citizens. Of Florida's agricultural workforce are non-citizens.
Speaker 2:That out-of-season corn you're enjoying from Georgia and Florida, yeah, that Mm-hmm. So why should you care? Let me be blunt with you, because it's going to hit you hard in the pocketbook If you're confessing about inflation. Already this action has consequences. Every action does, both intended and unintended consequences. The unintended consequences of this mass move is to deprive the very industries that count on these folks as the backbone for what Americans count on and take as privilege the ability to walk into any major grocery store anywhere in the United States of America and buy produce that is fresh, relatively affordable and have a variety. Did you know, for example, that the bananas you're enjoying come from either Costa Rica or Guatemala? If you're buying grapes, blueberries, raspberries right now, in the winter, they're probably coming from Peru.
Speaker 2:When the season, when it comes in the season in a few months, when this stuff comes in the season in California, arizona, texas, florida, particularly citrus in Florida, and it will be coming into season here in the next few months, chances are extremely good that it will be an immigrant's hand, either running the machinery picking it or actually picking it in the field, and probably families in the field picking the fruits and vegetables and crops that you enjoy at your table, to eat right, to eat healthy, the meat, the stews, the grilling that you're going to do this year. Oh yeah, oh yeah. You don't fully realize the cost. There's always a cost, and it's going to be a major one. The question is are you prepared and are you okay paying this extra cost?
Speaker 2:And some of that cost is going to be that some of these products will no longer be available. If they can't get enough people to harvest the crop, it will rot in the field and some farmers may choose not to plant at all rather than lose money because they can't assure that they would have labor necessary to harvest what they planted. If you're an ag lender right now, particularly in these communities in this part of the United States, you're probably asking or starting to ask, or you should be asking, hard questions that may impact the farmer's ability to get his operating loan to actually do the planning, because they may not know whether or not the field that could be harvested and sold. And then what about the processors? And sold? And then what about the processors? If you can't get enough of the raw material to make all the stuff that evolves from the crops that are picked, then the processors go offline and that unemployed a lot of folks and messes up a lot of small cities and towns across the country, so there's a domino effect. In fact, in some industries they have absolutely nothing to do with fruits, vegetables, meats and poultry.
Speaker 2:It could be impacted as an indirect consequence of having this stuff unavailable. So you ask yourself is it worth it? Is it worth it? We were taught that America is a melting pot. Everybody comes here, at least they want to. There's a reason for that. Right now, we're hoping that we'll be able to get our corn this year when it comes in the season, here in about three months, and I'm hoping to be able to enjoy it. We have come to the end of our visit. Be sure to meet me here again next time. You have been listening to Tech Mobility Show.
Speaker 1:The Tech Mobility Show is a copywritten production of Tech Mobility Productions Incorporated. Any rebroadcast, retransmission or any other use is prohibited without the written consent of Tech Mobility Productions Incorporated.
Speaker 2:For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week, Shorter than the full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show. From Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between, we got you covered. Just enter Tech Mobility.
Speaker 2:Topics in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media, it's the place to be where, no exception. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Several times a week, I post to TikTok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the Tech Mobility Show on TikTok. Check it out. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings of the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobilityshow.
Speaker 2:Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the TechMobility show. If you missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the TechMobility podcast just about anywhere. You can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheartradio, radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the tech mobility podcast in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts.
