By Stephanie Hoff
While much of the attention in Washington D.C. is focused on tariffs and the stalled Farm Bill, ag leaders say the biggest threat to U.S. specialty crop production remains a labor shortage.
The domestic labor pool remains tight, with low unemployment rates pushing most U.S. workers toward jobs outside of agriculture, according to Rebeckah Adcock, vice president of U.S. government relations with the International Fresh Produce Association. That leaves the sector heavily dependent on foreign labor — primarily through the federal H-2A guestworker program.
The H-2A program allows agricultural employers to temporarily hire foreign workers to fill seasonal or temporary agricultural jobs when there are not enough qualified U.S. workers available.
“We have the federal, legal H-2A program, which our folks access to the greatest extent possible, but it doesn’t meet all the needs that are out,” Adcock says. “We’re looking very hard to reform that on the Hill, and have been trying to do that for decades.”
The labor challenge extends beyond fruits and vegetables. Dairy farms and other sectors of agriculture that historically didn’t rely on foreign labor are now turning to it out of necessity, she says.
Concerns have also surfaced amid federal efforts to tighten the U.S.-Mexico border and increase deportations, especially of individuals with criminal records or unclear immigration status. That raised questions about the future of undocumented farmworkers who fill roles on U.S. farms.
Adcock notes there’s recognition from the White House that there are people in this country helping farmers who may not be here legally.
“We’re not quite sure what all that means, but we do know now that the administration has turned attention to it,” she says. “We’re very hopeful to have that dialogue.”
Meanwhile, agricultural leaders continue to call on Congress to modernize labor laws, especially the 40-year-old H-2A program, to better serve today’s food system.
