By Jaci Schreckengost With the fear of a domestic labor shortage of agricultural workers in the United States, many growers are turning to H-2A for a guaranteed labor supply. H-2A is a guest-worker program that brings employees from other countries to agricultural worksites in the United States. The downside of this program, however, is the cost. Fritz Roka, associate professor …
Labor Contract Extension Important Development for Red Meat Exports
Last Friday, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced its members have approved a three-year labor contract extension covering longshoremen at 29 U.S. West Coast ports. According to a story from Joe Schuele with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), this is an important development for red meat exports. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsNovember 1, 2024Nuseed Carinata Covers New …
Immigration Bill Won’t Affect Temporary Workers
The sponsor of an immigration bill suspected to reduce the agriculture labor force in the U.S. says his legislation will not impact temporary workers, which are often used in agriculture production. Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue wrote colleagues last week after concerns were raised about how the bill would impact farm workers. Referring to comments by Senate Republican Lindsay Graham, …
Trump Endorsed Immigration Bill Could Harm Farm Labor
A bill endorsed by President Donald Trump that would change the U.S. immigration system may harm farm labor. The bill by Republican Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia would reduce the number of legal immigrants coming into the United States and emphasize highly educated immigrants over what is regarded as the low-skilled laborers, which could be …
H-2A Contracts, Costs and Considerations
By Jaci Schreckengost The H-2A program is a guest-worker program that allows people from other countries to come to the United States on a visa as agricultural employees for temporary, seasonal work. Many industries are beginning to use H-2A due to uncertainty over the domestic labor supply, says Fritz Roka, an associate professor of agriculture economics at the University of …
Trump Unveils New Immigration Legislation
Since the beginning of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has been vocal about his urgency to reform U.S. immigration policy. When he was elected, business leaders, especially within the agriculture industry, waited to see what Trump’s immigration plans were and what those plans would mean for their workforce. An announcement from Trump today, August 2, may give the agriculture industry …
NMPF Proposal to Improve H-2A for Dairy Advances Thanks to Rep. Newhouse
In a meeting with Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern expressed appreciation on behalf of the nation’s dairy farmers for the congressman’s work to advance NMPF’s proposal to expand the H-2A farm worker visa program to include year-round employees on dairy farms. During consideration Wednesday of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s annual …
H-2A Visa Program May Be Expanded
The House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the fiscal 2018 Homeland Security Spending Bill that would help dairy producers and other farmers that need year round labor. The amendment would expand the types of businesses that can apply for the H-2A visa program for temporary or seasonal workers. Politico’s Morning Ag Report says it would also nullify the requirement …
Rural Unemployment Rates Declining
Unemployment rates in rural areas of the nation have been steadily declining since 2010. This trend has been reported by Farm Journal’s AgWeb, noting that both rural and urban unemployment rates have approached pre-recession levels. As of 2016, the overall unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in rural areas and 5.2 percent in urban areas. Before this decline, unemployment rates in …
Agri View: Talk Continues on Effects of the Wall
Everett Griner talks about how the wall will affect agriculture in today’s Agri View. Well, talk continues about the wall. What is it going to cost? Estimates range from 8 billion to 25 billion dollars. Whatever the cost, constructing that wall is not the only thing that generates financial repercussions. Trade, especially farm trade. Sale of farm …