Virus Snarls Spring In Europe

GENTHIN, Germany (AP) — Germany’s harvest of white asparagus is providing a first test of the fallout from the coronavirus crisis on a European farming sector that relies heavily on migrant workers. European farmers typically employ hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers every year, with 300,000 to Germany alone. Many come from eastern Europe and are willing to do heavy manual labor for Western Europe’s minimum wages. But as more and more European Union countries have restricted or stopped crossings of their usually near-invisible borders, farmers are left wondering how they will bring in their crops this year and the workers face months of lost income.