Farmers Urge Action on Ag Labor Shortages
Farmers and ranchers are taking center stage as the new administration works to better understand the labor shortage impacting U.S. agriculture.
Officials with the White House, Department of Labor, and USDA recently hosted a roundtable with producers to discuss the ongoing challenges. At the table was North Carolina Farm Bureau member Faylene Whitaker, who grows specialty crops with the help of workers hired through the H-2A visa program.
As the discussion went on, her messaging was focused on just how vital that labor is to American farms.
"How much that I could not farm without them, because I would not have a workforce. Also, how my wages have went up due to the way the adverse wage effect affected North Carolina about three years ago, and then that following year, and how dependable we are in the United States on this to grow vegetable and fruit crops."
Whitaker says the conversation needs to continue—not just in D.C., but back home. She encourages farmers and ranchers to reach out to their elected officials and share how labor challenges are impacting their farms.
