One of the biggest policy stories affecting agriculture this week is now officially on Capitol Hill.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson has introduced the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill aimed at overhauling the H-2A guest worker program that many fruit, vegetable and nursery growers rely on. The legislation has been assigned H.R. 9535 and is now before Congress.
Chairman Thompson says the bill focuses on three major goals: expanding access to legal agricultural workers, controlling labor costs, and streamlining what many growers say has become an overly complicated H-2A process.
One of the most significant changes would allow H-2A workers to fill temporary agricultural jobs lasting up to 350 days, instead of limiting the program primarily to seasonal work. That would open the door for year-round industries like dairy, pork, poultry and some livestock operations that currently have little or no access to the program.
The legislation would also establish a single online application portal shared by federal agencies, allow multi-year housing certifications, revise how the Adverse Effect Wage Rate—or AEWR—is calculated to provide greater wage stability, and update the definition of agricultural labor to better reflect today’s farming operations.
The proposal is drawing strong support from agricultural organizations. The Ag Wage Reform Coalition, whose members include the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and other specialty crop organizations, says the bill addresses many of the labor challenges threatening domestic fruit, vegetable, nursery and horticultural production. Chris Butts, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, called it one of the most comprehensive agricultural workforce reform efforts in decades.
The legislation still faces a long road through Congress, and any immigration-related bill is expected to generate significant debate. But for growers across Florida, Georgia and Alabama, it’s the most serious effort in years to reform the agricultural labor system.