Immigration has been a big focus of the second Trump Administration. Farm leaders want to remind the White House that guest workers are critical to the ag industry.
“When you start thinking about sweet potatoes, very labor-intensive vegetable crop, blueberries, very labor-intensive fruit crop, even the Christmas trees is a very labor-intensive crop. And so, all of these things that we’re doing, we have to have a lot of labor,” said Shawn Harding.
Harding is a supporter of the H-2A program, saying it is essential to meet labor demands. He also admits it has drawbacks, but warns farm workers have to be protected during talks of mass deportations.
“If we’re going to have food in the grocery stores and the restaurants, on our tables, somebody has to do this work. We’re big proponents of the H-2A program from that standpoint because that money goes back and supports people in these other countries and does good work for them as well.”
Numbers from the Farm Bureau show H-2A positions increased around two percent last year, which is around 6,000 more guest workers compared to 2023.
Risk management and diversification improve survival odds. Heidi Exline with American Farmland Trust discusses barriers to farmland access and efforts to connect the next generation of producers with retiring farmers.
April 15, 2026 03:05 PM
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Higher fuel costs are raising grain shipping expenses. RealAg Radio’s Shaun Haney discusses how energy market disruptions are impacting farmers in new ways as the War in Iran continues.
April 15, 2026 12:09 PM
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March 15 of each year is the application deadline for the Pima Cotton Trust, and March 1 of each year is the application deadline for the Wool Trust. The law mandates trust payments by April 15. More information about these programs is available at www.fas.usda.gov/programs.
April 14, 2026 03:45 PM
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Lane Howard and Adam Andrews with the National Corn Growers Association joined us in the studio discuss EPA’s approval of summer E15 sales, ongoing fuel market concerns, and the industry’s push for a long-term biofuels solution for farmers.
April 14, 2026 01:09 PM
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Labor supply may shift, but uncertainty remains for producers.
April 14, 2026 08:00 AM
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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the availability of over $275 million in grant funding in FY2026 for the specialty crop industry in the United States through three USDA programs.
April 13, 2026 03:37 PM
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