H-2A Reform
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. There’s been plenty of talk about reforming H-2A rules and policy, but so far nothing has made it through Congress.
Rod Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, says with ag workforce challenges on everybody’s mind these days, H-2A reform is possible, absolutely …
LAREW … “We’ve had bipartisan bills make it a part of the way through Congress with the support of farmworker’s groups, and so it’s been extraordinarily frustrating that there’s a lot of consensus on what should be done to kind of reform H-2A in particular, but we just can’t seem to get it done.”
But, Larew says it’s more than just H-2A reform …
LAREW … “What worries me a little bit is that with a lot of the talk right now on immigration-related issues and obviously a huge focus on deportation, what is that going to do to the ag workforce in general? Yes, we may have a brighter opportunity to reform and maybe increase the numbers even, and work on things like adverse wage with H-2A, but ag labor challenges I think are with us for a while.”
The workforce problems, Larew says are many and can’t be overlooked …
LAREW … “Farmers right now, right, we’re paying really strong wages out there as it is. If this workforce gets even tighter and tighter, you know, it’s going to drive some folks out of production.”
Larew says adequate ag labor may be the biggest problem facing agriculture right now and something has to be done before it’s too late.
