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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Saturday, May 11, 2024
The Labor Department has finalized a series of new protections for H-2A employees, including a right to participate in advocacy efforts over working conditions and restrictions on when workers can be fired for cause. A leading industry group denounced the regulations as "offensive" and "developed in bad faith."
Farmers and ranchers would like to see increased crop insurance subsidies and commodity price supports in the new farm bill, and a strong majority support cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to an exclusive Agri-Pulse producer poll.
If you think hiring good employees for food and agricultural jobs is difficult now, the data doesn’t indicate it’s going to improve anytime soon. Understanding generational differences in today's labor makeup will help ag companies weather the tight labor market.
Leaders of the House Agriculture Committee announced the formation of a 14-member working group, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, that is supposed to find solutions for the labor challenges facing farmers.
Farms may be required to pay higher wages to some foreign workers under changes the Labor Department has finalized in the way that H-2A minimum pay rates are calculated.
A key Republican says the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill Democrats are pushing through the Senate will lead to automatic cuts in farm programs and other forms of federal spending. Sen. John Boozman, the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, is referring to the Congressional Budget Office’s determination that the legislation would trigger the budget sequestration process under the 2011 budget law.
President Joe Biden’s proposal to provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants offers farm groups a new chance to persuade Congress to expand the availability of guest workers for agriculture, but winning critical Republican support for a major immigration bill could be harder than ever in the post-Trump era.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says there is less than a 10% chance that farmers will get more Market Facilitation Program payments this year and that China is sending “signals” it intends to honor its pledges to ramp up purchases of U.S. farm commodities.
The Democratic-controlled House approved a bill Wednesday to expand the H-2A visa program to year-round farmworkers and provide growers relief from wage hikes, but the broad GOP opposition underscored the challenge of getting Congress to address the agricultural labor squeeze.
