NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD-TV) — The labor group United Farm Workers is taking the Trump Administration to court over recent changes to the H-2A program. The lawsuit, filed Friday in the Eastern District of California, argues that the cuts to H-2A minimum wage rates will also reduce pay for domestic workers.
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.
“By DOL’s own admission, DOL engineered the IFR to reduce wages paid to temporary foreign farmworkers and, in turn, U.S. workers—the precise workers whose wages and working conditions federal law protects. In short, the IFR has created the ‘adverse effect’ that DOL is tasked with preventing,” says the lawsuit filed on behalf of 18 individual farm workers as well as the United Farm Workers of America and the UFW Foundation.
Other agricultural groups, like the National Council of Agriculture Employers, disagree and say the new rates bring ag wages back to reality. The International Fresh Produce Association called the interim final rule “an historic step forward in creating a fairer, more predictable, and administratively workable process for setting H-2A wage rates.”
House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson says the 2026 Farm Bill is bipartisan, with 82% of the bills incorporated into it receiving bipartisan support.
February 25, 2026 11:24 AM
·
High beef prices are squeezing South Texas restaurants, but Texas Farm Bureau says consumer demand remains strong despite record costs.
February 25, 2026 11:12 AM
·
Reliable canal infrastructure supports long-term access to global agricultural markets.
February 25, 2026 08:00 AM
·
For communities that depend on agriculture as their primary economic engine, the recession is not defined by headlines on Wall Street. It is defined by the quiet disappearance of the businesses that once processed, serviced, and supported the crop.
February 25, 2026 05:00 AM
·
Glyphosate and phosphorus are deemed critical to U.S. national defense, ensuring farmers’ access while signaling a shift toward regenerative agriculture. RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney shares insight on the Trump Administration’s move and what it could mean for U.S. farmers moving forward.
February 24, 2026 01:30 PM
·
The Ranger Road Fire in the Oklahoma Panhandle is now 65% contained after burning nearly 300,000 acres over the past week. Kevin Charleston of Specialty Risk Insurance Agency discusses wildfire recovery, livestock insurance considerations, and the importance of preparedness for producers across the Southern Plains.
February 24, 2026 12:28 PM
·
