Re: prison farms

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Hi all, just an aside really, but I had a thought about the conflicts between union trades and prison labor/manufacturing - Here in Minnesota, some woody and perennial plant growers (small family farms, usually) are being run out of business by a prison run nursery operation. The prison can sell plant material at a fraction of the cost and have undercut several nurseries in fairly sizable contracts (i.e. growing native plants for highways, etc.). Our local nursery association has been fighting to get the prison to sell at fair market prices - which seems to make sense all around - pay for the cost of the prisons, compete fairly with the local economy....