H2A Visas and the Ag Economy

H2A Visas and the Ag Economy

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett
Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue testified before the House Ag Committee and took questions on issues affecting the ag economy.

Congressmen asked about NAFTA, Ag research, support for new and young farmers, rural broadband, healthy pork production and the difficult subject of H2A visas for ag workers.

Growers say the current visa system for guest workers on a seasonal basis, is unnecessarily complex.

The visa allows farmworkers to stay up to a year in the U.S., renewable up to three years. Farmers have to prove they cannot find American workers to fill the position and hiring a foreign worker would not hurt Americans in similar work.

Perdue says he believes a NAFTA deal should be done by the end of the year.

The 2018 draft Farm Bill awaits cost analysis from the Congressional Budget Office.

Previous ReportForecast Troubling for Colorado
Next ReportGardner Standing Firm on States' Rights to Legal Pot