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Ag wage rates could see significant increases

More than 100 agricultural groups and businesses are calling on Congress to hold steady on ag wages.

National Council of Agricultural Employers President Michael Marsh tells Brownfield if a short-term hold for 2019 H-2A wage rates isn’t passed by Congress, growers could see a more than 20 percent hike in labor costs next year.  “Even though the Bureau of Labor and Statistics indicated that average U.S. wages only increased by 2.8 percent over fiscal year 2018, some of the proposed increases for wages for folks using the H-2A program in the U.S. would have jumped up 23 percent.”

He says the industry is asking Congress to support a proposal by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina which holds wage rates in the short-term while the U.S. Departments of Labor and Agriculture create a more accurate and market-based assessment of wages and ways to update them.

Marsh says the Trump Administration’s recent efforts to reform the H-2A program have been helpful in streamlining the process for both workers and farmers.

AUDIO: Brownfield interview with Michael Marsh at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo.