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.
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Agriculture remains a key drag on regional growth amid weak prices and policy uncertainty.
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While access to China remains uncertain, U.S. beef exporters are finding resilience and opportunity in other global markets, which could help maintain industry value and expand export opportunities.
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