Labor - National Farmers Union

Issue Overview

Every family farmer and rancher recognizes the pivotal role labor can play in the success of the farm operation. However, the agriculture workforce is experiencing a crisis across the country.

The face of agriculture is increasingly getting older and many young family farmers and ranchers are financially squeezed out of the profession. Our outdated national agricultural workforce program, also known as the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Visa Program, can no longer meet our nation’s workforce challenges. It is evident that family farmers need a comprehensive overhaul of the program.

While many presidential administrations have taken action to address these issues, we need Congress to act on modernizing the H-2A program. Congress must enact reforms that benefit both agricultural employers and farmworkers alike. Through bipartisan collaboration and common-sense reforms, we can deliver certainty to our nation’s family farmers and ranchers.

Labor and Ag Workforce Priorities

A Fair and Competitive Domestic Workforce

Advancing policies that give farmers access to an affordable H-2A program while also ensuring fair and humane workforce conditions for H-2A workers.
Creating new investments in farm safety tools and comprehensive training programs that help curb the risks of injury or harm on family farm and ranch operations.
Establishing new farm operation-backed incentives that establish critical worker protections, including the implementation of heat stress illness prevention standards and safer recruitment networks.

An Evolution of the Migrant Ag Labor Program

Controlling the growth of the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR), a mechanism that creates unsustainable labor costs for farm operations.
Innovating H-2A eligibility guidelines to include year-round operations and staggered start dates, helping to strengthen our livestock and crop commodity operations.
Creating strategic pathways to citizenship for undocumented and documented workers in the ag workforce, helping build opportunities for hard-working farm worker communities.