Ag labor challenges are top of mind for everyone in the industry. The National Farmers Union says that the industry can no longer afford to overlook it.
NFU President, Rob Larew states, “Farmers right now, right, we’re paying really strong wages out there as it is. If this workforce gets even tighter and tighter, you know, it’s going to drive some folks out of production.”
He says that many attempts have been made to address the issue in Washington, but they always fall short, and it has been frustrating to watch.
“We’ve had bipartisan bills make it a part of the way through Congress with the support of farmworker’s groups, and so it’s been extraordinarily frustrating that there’s a lot of consensus on what should be done to kind of reform H-2A in particular, but we just can’t seem to get it done,” he explains.
Larew says that finding adequate labor might be the biggest problem facing agriculture today. He remains hopeful H-2A reform is possible.
