Labor Challenges Broken Down with AFBF Intel Reports

Samantha Ayoub, associate economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, specializes in labor, using data to break down key challenges in the ag workforce. She has more insight into the issues that are shaping agricultural labor today.

“Obviously, we face extreme shortages in finding farm workers across the country, across commodities, and so we focus on what are those shortages? And then the different programs that address it. We have multiple guest worker visa programs, the h2 a program largely in our like specialty crop industry, especially when those are so labor heavy. We also have some, you know, unorthodox visa programs too, the TN visa through the usmca agreement, and some others, H to be for the supply chain partners. And so I look at, you know, how do those programs grow? But then also, you know, some are, what are some of the issues with them?”

Ayoub says there are several entities that utilize this data to make changes and create programs to help in the realm of labor.

“Might be farmers and ranchers, again, trying to be advocates in their community, rap fusion, you know, learning how to tell our ag story. But it also goes, you know, I'm based in DC. It could be members of Congress. It could be executive agencies who are looking to understand an issue. We have a whole team of Government Affairs who you can use our data to, like, objectively tell their stories,”

As well as providing resources and information to State Farm Bureaus.