Link to original story

By Marion Kirkpatrick, RFD-TV

Labor is an ongoing crisis in the ag sector. One industry group outlines three vital reforms to the H-2A visa program that farmers need to secure an affordable, stable workforce.

The H-2A guest worker visa program remains under scrutiny, with little change for producers struggling to secure a consistent ag labor workforce. Enrique Gastelum, CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association (WAFLA), identifies three significant challenges related to work visas that need attention, starting with the skyrocketing wage rate.

“We need a change to the methodology to get this cost under control,” Gastelum explained. “You know, when farmers are paying 70% of their costs of operations just to labor, and you have H-2A related to it, that’s kind of, I would say, the number one fix that we need to see.”

He adds that changes in room and board also need to be reviewed, as current conditions leave farmers with a significant input cost before anything is even harvested.

“Second fix we need to see is: something’s got to break the farmers’ way, related to the cost of housing,” Gastelum said. “This is one of the only foreign guestworker programs where the employer is on the hook for paying 100% of the workers’ living situation.”

Lastly, the industry leader said changes surrounding non-seasonal ag workers are also needed – specifically, for struggling sectors like dairy and cattle ranching. A federal court in Louisiana is challenging the adverse effect of the wage rate, which is a move welcomed by growers there.