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Farm labor reforms coming from multiple angles

New farm labor legislation in the next Congress could bring relief for farmers.

Michael Marsh with the National Council of Agricultural Employers tells Brownfield he’s optimistic farm labor reform his organization has developed can gain traction in the next Congress.

“If we can get it introduced, I think we would appeal to both Republicans and Democrats at the same time, and I think ultimately have the effect of having a cost-effective means for getting temporary labor into the United States.”

He says it would build on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act by allowing livestock and dairy operators to access the program and create market-based wage rates.

Marsh says if Congress can’t implement reforms, current litigation could bring solutions.

“Unfortunately, the regulations and the burden that we’ve got here, it’s unlike any place else on the planet, and it’s making us uncompetitive with the rest of the planet, the rest of the world, and allowing greater imports coming into the United States and decreasing our ability to be competitive in that marketplace,” he says.

He says the adverse effect wage rate is crushing American agriculture and impacting food security.

“Today, more than 60% of the fresh fruit that we consume in the U.S. and more than 40% of the fresh vegetables are coming from our competition in Canada and Mexico, and that simply is not sustainable if you want to have American produced food,” he explains.

Marsh also points to bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House to pause H-2A wage rates as temporary relief.

Brownfield interview Marsh during this week’s Michigan State University’s Farm Labor Conference.