Labor is at the top of the ag industry’s legislative goals for the new year. The Washington Farm Bureau says labor is the number one input cost for their farmers and ranchers with the state’s costs currently 400 percent higher than the national average.
“This is critical. It is impacting farmers and ranchers across the state, and it’s something that needs to be addressed, and to do that, we will continue to work on some type of overtime mitigation, some kind of solution to that critical issue for farmers. And then, you will also see a new attempt for farmworker unionization, and we have to delve a little deeper into what the impacts on agriculture would be,” said Bre Elsey, Director of Government Affairs at the Washington Farm Bureau.
Fruit and vegetable farmers are especially hit. The specialty crop growers spend nearly 38 percent of their expenses on labor.
RFD NEWS correspondent Frank McCaffrey recently spoke with Dr. Mike Vickers, a South Texas rancher, who says illegal border crossings have dramatically declined in the last year.
January 27, 2026 11:51 AM
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Rural population growth and stabilizing economic indicators point to post-pandemic recovery, but uneven income, shifting industries, and regional divides remain key challenges for rural communities.
January 23, 2026 08:00 AM
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RFD NEWS Correspondent Frank McCaffrey speaks with Texas’s Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez about USMCA renegotiation and its impact on U.S.–Mexico agriculture trade.
January 17, 2026 05:00 PM
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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates that the move will save farmers and ranchers $2.5 billion each year. The group warns that new methods for calculating the adverse-effect wage rate would result in lower pay for foreign workers.
November 24, 2025 11:32 AM
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Farmers who rely on H-2A workers will see a few key changes to speed up the process and make it fairer. On the ground, producers say labor issues create shortfalls in otherwise productive harvests.
October 27, 2025 01:36 PM
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Todd Miller, CEO of Head Honchos, shares about his business offering to ease agricultural labor shortages.
October 17, 2025 04:02 PM
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