AFBF to Wall Street Journal: Strong Farms Start with Legal Foreign Workforce

There are serious consequences to not fixing the agriculture labor crisis. Many farmers simply couldn’t produce the food we all enjoy without a labor force. American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall explained the implications in a letter to the editor published in the Wall Street Journal.

President Duvall wrote, "The Labor Department acknowledges a reality that the political extremes willfully ignore: Americans prefer other jobs over the hard work of farming. As a requirement of visa programs, farmers must advertise their available jobs, but fewer than 1% are ever filled by an American. Thousands of positions go unfilled, which means apples go unpicked and tomatoes rot in fields.

"Qualified men and women are willing to take farm jobs, however. Guestworkers from other countries come here legally to fill essential roles on the farm while earning income to support their families back home. These workers play a critical role in our food supply. Unfortunately, they are limited to seasonal roles, so many farmers who need year-round help still lack a solution."

Read the entire letter to the editor here (subscription required).