CLOVIS, Calif. — Bins of Granny Smith apples towered over two conveyor belts at P-R Farms’ packing plant. But only one belt moved. P-R Farms, like farms up and down California and across the nation, does not have enough workers to process its fruit. ‘We’re short by 50 to 75 people,’ said Pat Ricchiuti, 59, the third-generation owner of P-R Farms. ‘For the last three weeks, we’re running at 50 percent capacity. We saw this coming a couple years ago, but last year and this year has really been terrible.’ Farmers of all types of specialty crops, from almonds to roses, have seen the immigrant labor supply they depend on dry up over the past year. Increased border security and competition from other industries are driving migrant laborers out of the fields, farmers say. Earlier this year, many farmers were optimistic about finding a solution in the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act, or AgJobs. The bill, proposed by Sens. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) and Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), would allow undocumented agricultural workers already in the United States to become legal permanent residents and would streamline the current guest-worker program. In March and September, hundreds […]