Dairy groups are focused on labor solutions this year. It is a problem they say has plagued the industry for years and warns is getting worse.
“It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking row crop agriculture or animal agriculture. For decades now, these are not jobs filled by Americans or a domestic workforce. These are jobs that immigrants typically fill, and largely that’s due to the fact that we have an economy that creates more jobs than we have for a domestic workforce,” said Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association.
Naerebout adds a lack of adequate labor is a big reason kids are leaving the farm and not coming back, and he says he has been pushing for what he calls a simple solution for years.
“We’re asking for access to a visa program. We’re asking the existing workers who are here without authorization, do a background check on them, have them pay a penalty, and then give them legal status. If they can pay the penalty and pass a background check and they don’t have a criminal record or even legal status, let them continue to fill the jobs that they’re filling and support our economy.”
The E-Verify system is largely used by employers to check immigration status, and groups say they would happily adopt it once an immigration fix has been found. Representative Dan Newhouse agrees, saying E-Verify would be welcomed, but says there needs to be a legal source of workers to begin with.
For rural borrowers, freeing up community-bank balance sheets could mean steadier home loans, operating lines, and ag real-estate financing as winter planning ramps up.
October 13, 2025 04:08 PM
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The FAA’s proposed rule to allow drones to operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) could soon revolutionize how farmers and ranchers manage their land.
October 13, 2025 03:39 PM
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Tammi Arender takes us to 3 Board Farm to meet some first-generation farmers who took a leap of faith and, in the process, found a new purpose.
October 13, 2025 02:11 PM
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“Good flies? Is that like a good fire ant?” Miller said. “I don’t know what a good fly is. I don’t know if they’re afraid to kill house flies or stable flies, but I’m ready to kill the screwworm fly.”
October 13, 2025 01:28 PM
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President Trump has long supported a direct line from Alberta’s oil fields to the Midwest.
October 13, 2025 01:21 PM
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The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is urging Congress and the Trump Administration to act quickly on behalf of American agriculture.
October 13, 2025 11:42 AM
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Better yield measurement means fairer grids, more precise breeding targets, and more dollars for truly efficient cattle.
October 13, 2025 10:45 AM
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Escalating U.S.–China tensions threaten soybean demand as farm finances are stretched further.
October 13, 2025 10:40 AM
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CoBank Lead Grains Economist Tanner Ehmke joins us to share insight and concerns over current grain storage capacity as export demand lags.
October 09, 2025 01:36 PM
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