Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against the Democrats’ plan to provide eight million green cards as a part of their $3.5 trillion spending bill. The Hill says that decision makes getting immigration reform to President Biden’s desk that much harder. MacDonough’s guidance all but closes the door on Democrats’ chances to be able to use the spending bill as a …
NPPC Asks Congress to Address Agricultural Labor Shortage
With a scheduled vote in the U.S. House set for Monday, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is calling on Congress to include in a budget reconciliation bill language to expand the existing H-2A visa to year-round agricultural workers. Like many sectors of the economy, the U.S. pork industry is faced with a severe labor shortage. But even before the …
AFBF Urges USDA to Address Supply Chain Issues
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack detailing a list of solutions to address critical supply chain issues facing America’s farmers and ranchers. AFBF detailed seven priorities for USDA to consider in response to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains. Recommendations they ask USDA to consider action on include: Livestock markets …
USDA Invests Millions in Grants to Provide Relief to Farm and Food Workers Impacted by COVID-19
(WASHINGTON, September 7, 2021) — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that $700 million in competitive grant funding will be available through the new Farm and Food Workers Relief (FFWR) grant program to help farmworkers and meatpacking workers with pandemic-related health and safety costs. The announcement was made in press call with United Farm Workers Foundation Executive Director Diana Tellefson Torres and …
Protect Against the COVID-19 Delta Variant
If you would have asked us last September if there would still be a need to write a tip about COVID-19 a year later, our answer would have been, “We sure hope not.” So, what’s changed? The simplest explanation is the emergence of the Delta variant. When you hear us talk about food safety, we don’t often talk about variants. …
Tyson Foods, Unions Reach Deal on COVID-10 Vaccine Mandate
Tyson Foods says that labor unions agreed to support its requirement for U.S. employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November. Reuters says the company will offer new benefits to workers including paid sick leave. Companies like Tyson have been trying to give employees incentives to get vaccinated through bonuses and other benefits as the Delta Strain pushes case numbers …
Study: U.S. Pork Industry Needs More Access to Foreign-Born Workforce
The U.S. pork industry has been noting the struggles many producers across the country are having when it comes to a shortage with labor. An updated study reflecting the current state of the labor market was released by Iowa State University economists, and it notes despite competitive wages, the U.S. pork industry continues to struggle with a labor shortage that …
AEM: 100,000 Equipment Manufacturing Jobs Possible Through Infrastructure Efforts
More than 100,000 family-sustaining equipment manufacturing jobs can be created before the end of President Biden’s first term in office, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. AEM says these are high-skilled jobs in primarily rural areas that pay an average annual income of $88,000, which is 35 percent above the current national average. The data comes from a study …
Keeping Young Ag Workers Safe
The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS) announced resources that can be used to help keep young agriculture workers safe. NCCRAHS pointed out that there are serious risks to children doing farm work, as well as positives. During the past decade, more youth have died working in agriculture than in all other industries combined, the …
Vilsack Delivers Statement at Immigrant Farmworkers Hearing
On Wednesday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified during the “Immigrant Farmworkers are Essential to Feeding America” Judiciary Committee hearing. This was the first-ever appearance by an Agriculture Secretary before the full Senate Judiciary Committee. During his opening statement, Vilsack discussed the important role immigrant farmworkers have in the food and agriculture industry and the overall economy. Vilsack said we …