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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, March 09, 2025
Farms that use H-2A workers will be allowed to pay them significantly lower wages under a sweeping overhaul of the program’s wage regulations announced by the Labor Department on Monday.
There are new questions about what farmers will have to pay foreign workers next year under the H-2A program. A federal judge’s ruling has barred USDA from suspending its annual farm wage survey that is used to calculate H-2A wage rates.
Farm groups that have been appealing to the federal government for years to address a labor shortage could finally see some action from the next Congress should Democrats win control of the government, but any expansion of access to foreign labor will likely come with strings attached.
The Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief plan Thursday evening even as leaders continue to negotiate a final package. Ahead of the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats were still trading proposals with the White House but wouldn’t have a deal before today. ”We’re going back and forth,” she said.
A White House effort to lower the wages farms have to pay H-2A workers appears to have foundered amid concerns that it would put some regions at a disadvantage to others.
The Senate returns to action this month under pressure to pass another major coronavirus relief package, but a more immediate priority for GOP leaders will be to agree on fixes to the Paycheck Protection Program, a lifeline to many small businesses and farms.