Ag Leader: Everybody Jockeying for Position Has Complicated Labor Issue

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By Clint Thompson The agricultural labor issue should not be as complicated as legislators are making it out to be. That’s the belief shared by Jimmy Parnell, president of the Alabama Farmers Federation. Specialty crop producers need a seasonal labor force. Citizens of other countries want to work. It’s a match made in agricultural heaven. “There’s a large group of …

Addressing High Labor Costs in Produce Industry

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As labor costs for fruit and vegetable growers continue to spike, producers need to look at alternative strategies available to improve management and increase production. Rod Bain with the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports on the options available. (PARTICIPANT: Skyler Simnitt of the Economic Research Service) Sponsored ContentSECURE FUNDING NOW | USDA-Sponsored Farming Project Underway in the Southern PiedmontFebruary 1, …

H-2A Housing a Hurdle for Many Growers 

Web AdminLabor, Specialty Crops

By Clint Thompson A small group of people can sometimes boast the loudest voices. For some specialty crop producers, that can impede progress. David Hill, president of Southern Hill Farms in Clermont, Fla., and chairman of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, recently testified to the Florida Senate Agriculture Committee on the state’s fruit and vegetable industry. One of his …

An Advocate for All Growers

Web AdminAgri-business, Corn, Labor

By Clint Thompson Karla Thompson is a lawyer by training and farmer by marriage. That combination makes her one of the Southeast’s leading advocates for growers. “I think with advocacy work it really helps because I understand the misperceptions and ideas that people have about the ag industry because I had them myself,” Thompson says. “Before I got involved in …

H-2A Worker Numbers Still Rising

Web AdminAgribusiness, Labor

U.S. agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of U.S. domestic workers can fill seasonal farm jobs with temporary foreign workers through the H-2A visa program. The Department of Labor certified around 317,000 temporary jobs in fiscal year (FY) 2021 under the H-2A visa program, more than six times the number certified in 2005. Only about 80% of the certified jobs …

Senate Labor Act Left Out of Omnibus Deal

Web AdminLabor, Legislative

By Frank Giles On Dec. 22, the U.S. Senate passed the omnibus appropriations bill. The $1.7 trillion measure would fund the federal government through the remainder of 2023. The measure now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote to avoid a government shutdown on the evening of Dec. 23. Much to the dismay of farm groups nationwide, …

No Ag Labor Reform in Omnibus Package

Web AdminLabor, Legislative

By Frank Giles On Dec. 22, the U.S. Senate passed the omnibus appropriations bill. The $1.7 trillion measure would fund the federal government through the remainder of 2023. The measure now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote to avoid a government shutdown on the evening of Dec. 23. Much to the dismay of farm groups nationwide, …

GFVGA Frustrated by Ag Labor’s Lack of Inclusion in Omnibus Spending Bill

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The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) expressed disappointment following the news that agriculture labor reform was left out of the Omnibus spending package being finalized in Congress. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced the Affordable Secure Food Act last week. It was a counterpart to the Farm Worker Modernization Act that was passed by the House in 2021. The …

Florida Associations Applaud Senate Farm Labor Bill

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The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) supports the bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday, titled the Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2022 (ASFA). The bill is similar to the Farm Workforce Modernization Act that was passed in the House in 2021. It would create a path to legal status for undocumented farmworkers and freeze the Adverse Effect …

Labor Challenges Increase Farm Economy Pressures

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Labor demands continue to stretch thin the farming operations of specialty crop producers across the U.S., with rising wage rates and record usage of the H-2A visa program. Meaningful reforms to the federal government’s guest worker program must be a priority for Congress by the end of the year. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), along with more than 350 …