Many agriculture stakeholders are throwing their support behind House Ag Chair GT Thompson’s “Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act” as a possible solution to decades-long labor shortages on U.S. farms and ranches. Matt Teagarden, chair of the American Business Immigration Coalition’s Ag Council, talked about the Act and why it’s so important.
“What I would call the biggest problem in agriculture today is the workforce needs and the inability to secure the workforce that we need in agriculture. And so, it really is a food security, national security issue. It really addresses the key issues head-on for agriculture. And so, when we talk about the H-2A program, that’s a seasonal guest worker program that meets the needs of many parts of agriculture in the U.S., but not livestock production. Our work in feed yards and dairies and ranches is not seasonal; it’s every day, year-round, and so the legislation includes the opportunity to include year-round work in the H-2A program, and that’s something that we’ve been asking for, for years, and a key component of the reform that we need in our immigration, labor, and workforce system.”
The legislation also helps assist the current labor force as well.
“The other piece that is equally important is the opportunity that our existing workforce can be vetted and determined that they’ve been productive members, good members of our communities, have been working hard, paying taxes, and doing the work that frankly many folks aren’t willing to do. We have an opportunity to add those individuals to the H-2A program and get them full legal work authorization. These are folks that have been part of these operations for years and years and years, and have been in these communities for years. And we really need to address this issue and provide them an opportunity to get legal.”
He said it will be impossible to economically produce food in the U.S. without solving the labor challenge. Teagarden added that the bill is being positively received by many stakeholders across U.S. agriculture.
“Multiple ag segments across the country have been very supportive, nearly unanimous support for this bill, in the approach that Chairman Thompson has taken here. The other side, though, would be that when the bill was introduced, we saw the typical attacks from some folks in D.C. and maybe particularly online, who oppose any kind of approach that doesn’t result in every immigrant being deported. I think they’re just detached from reality, in part, of the circumstances across the country and rural America, who think that we could sustain our ability to feed ourselves that we have here, if we deported all of these immigrants.”
Not passing labor reform would have significant consequences for the U.S. economy, starting with the price of food.
“If we are unable to produce the food and have the staff that we need in these operations, we’re going to see food prices increase and a greater reliance on imported food. Not that we’re saying we shouldn’t import any food, but you have that balance that we need to strike from a food security, national security standpoint. But then also disrupting families and communities and businesses that this mass deportation approach would create. Recently, we saw in Southwest Kansas increased enforcement activity from ICE that led to workers staying home out of fear.”
That meant lost revenue, lost wages, and an inability to process beef in a timely manner, keeping prices high at the grocery stores.