More Labor

The American Farm Bureau Federation commended Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the new chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, for setting a high priority on solving the agricultural labor crisis.

 

AFBF President Zippy Duvall said: “The labor shortage is a major constraint to farm production and growth across the country, and solving this problem is a priority for the Farm Bureau. Rep. Lofgren’s bill addresses one key aspect of the problem, the legal status of so many of our workers. We are pleased that, at the start of the 116th Congress, Chairwoman Lofgren has underscored the importance of this critical issue. We are ready to work with Rep. Lofgren and members on both sides of the aisle to provide a path to legalization for our workers and develop a guest worker program that meets the needs of growers in all sectors of agriculture, now and in the future, ” added Duvall.

 

Another AFBF official, Paul Schlagel, has weighed in heavily with the American Farm Bureau Federation: “When you think ag, we need a new program but we also need a transition which affects our current workforce and the current workforce is critical to make sure that we can maintain what we are doing while we get into a new program and on that issue a transition in the current workforce, the bill probably falls short of what we need.” An ag specific immigration bill could also be up for consideration in July. Schlagel says it is time for Congress to act on the issue. “It is almost 20 years to the day when the first ag jobs bill was introduced by Gordon Smith July 21, 1998 so for 20 years we have been on Congress’s doorstep asking for a solution and we cannot wait any longer.”