Ag labor challenges can no longer afford to be overlooked, according to National Farmers Union

“If this workforce gets even tighter and tighter, you know, it’s going to drive some folks out of production.”

Ag labor challenges are at the forefront of the industry’s minds. The National Farmers Union (NFU) says the industry can no longer afford to ignore them.

“Farmers right now, right, we’re paying really strong wages out there as it is,” says NFU President Rob Larew. “If this workforce gets even tighter and tighter, you know, it’s going to drive some folks out of production.”

Larew 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 agriculture’s most significant problem today. He remains hopeful that H-2A reform is possible.

Related Stories
As we start the new year, let’s take a look at some of the legislative items from 2023 affecting agriculture that will continue to play out in the political area for months to come.
Recent developments in ag law and tax — that is the topic of today’s Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV-Agri-Legal Expert Roger McEowen.
To mark the end of National Chicken Month, we take a look at how the U.S. poultry industry is making a slow and steady recovery following the widespread outbreak of High-Path Avian Flu (HPAI) in 2022 that devastated commercial flocks across the country.
Seven out of the eight major fertilizers saw recent price decreases. However, one key type of fertilizer bucked the overall trend with an 11-percent rise.
Dr. Tim Boring with the Michigan Department of Agriculture shed light on the current challenges and opportunities impacting farmers across the State in a conversation with RFD-TV’s own Tammi Arender at the NASDA Annual Meeting this week in Wyoming.