Farm Workforce Modernization Act and Christmas Tree Imports Higher

Farm Workforce Modernization Act and Christmas Tree Imports Higher

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.

**California Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups are urging the U.S. Senate to pass key farm labor legislation during the lame-duck session.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed in the House with bipartisan support but has stalled in the Senate.

The legislation would provide a path to legal status for undocumented farmworkers and reform the H2-A temporary worker program.

Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said the bill offers a “fair solution” for ag workers.

**Christmas trees are iconic symbols of the holiday season, and while a vast majority are grown in the U.S., a small share are imported from Canada.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service reports, from 2000–15, live Christmas tree imports averaged around two million trees per year at an inflation-adjusted annual value of $36.1 million.

But, by 2022, live tree imports reached nearly 2.8 million trees at a value of $68 million.

**USDA's Economic Research Service forecasts inflation-adjusted U.S. net cash farm income to increase $30.1 billion, to $187.9 billion in 2022, a 19.1% increase.

This total would be the highest on record.

U.S. net farm income is forecast to increase by $10.7 billion, 7.2%, to $160.5 billion in 2022, its highest level since 1973 after adjusting for inflation.

Net farm income is a broader measure of farm sector profitability that incorporates noncash items.

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