Apr 16, 2024Industry leaders applaud bipartisan ag labor working group’s final report
Industry leaders and associations applauded the House Committee on Agriculture’s bipartisan agriculture labor working group’s final report. The final report is the product of a months-long effort to identify workforce challenges faced by the agriculture industry and propose potential legislative solutions to them.
“AFBF thanks the Agriculture Labor Working Group for making improvements to the H-2A program a priority when they could have looked the other way. That’s what leadership is all about. We hope this work is followed by action. America’s farmers and ranchers are counting on Congress to address this issue before more farms go under,” said Zippy Duvall, president, American Farm Bureau Federation.
Ken Fisher, president and CEO, AmericanHort commended the House Agriculture Committee for “establishing the Agricultural Labor Working Group and applauds the group’s efforts to improve the availability of labor through programs like H-2A, which has been a critical program for the agriculture and horticulture industries.”
Fisher also noted that AmericanHort encourages continued advocacy efforts to improve both H-2A and H-2B programs, “particularly in reforming the Adverse Effect Wage Rate policies and granting year-round industries access to the H-2A program.”
“The bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group has identified a bipartisan road map to get the relief, particularly wage relief, that the fresh produce and floral industry needs to survive. Congress cannot continue to rely on the undeniable tenacity of the American farmer to figure out a way to survive under the current broken system and must act now to prevent more farms from going out of business,” said Cathy Burns, CEO, International Fresh Produce Association.
Other comments included in a press release from the House Committee on Agriculture indicated that the National Council of Agricultural Employers, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and National Farmers Union all indicated support of the bipartisan efforts.
