In California's agricultural communities, where the values ofcrops and farm land are soaring, a new brand of immigration-based rural poverty is quietly taking root.Philip Martin, a UC Davis agricultural economist and anauthority on farm labor, and co-editors Edward Taylor andMichael Fix examine this new phenomenon in the newlypublished book "Poverty Amid Prosperity: Immigration and theChanging Face of Rural California," published by the UrbanInstitute Press.The book will be formally released Thursday, Oct. 9, at aconference examining this new demographic phenomenon. Theconference will be held at the Buehler Alumni and VisitorsCenter on campus."Because of recent changes in Mexico's rural economy and inlegalization programs for immigrants to the United States,fewer Mexican-born farm workers are returning to Mexico afterthe harvest season," explains Martin.Instead, the new immigrants are settling primarily in theagricultural towns of the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys,where permanent jobs for unskilled laborers are scarce. As aresult, the highest rates of welfare dependency are inCalifornia's agricultural counties, where public assistancemay go to as many as one-third of the residents. Thesituation may worsen as new welfare time limits throw moreU.S. born residents into the agricultural labor market, saysMartin.