Ag Labor Reform Is Critical to America’s Food Supply

On my farm and farms across the country, nothing happens without people. Behind every harvest is a team of dedicated workers helping bring food from our fields to families’ kitchen tables.

Farmers value our employees. Many of us work alongside the same people for decades, and those relationships matter. But right now, farmers are in the middle of a labor crisis that is putting that work, and our food supply, at risk.

We’re seeing it every day. Crops are left to rot in the fields. Farmers are scaling back. Some are even going out of business because they simply can’t find the help they need.

Public Support for Ag Labor Solutions Is Clear

Americans understand what’s at stake. Seven in ten adults support farmers having access to H-2A guestworkers, and two in three recognize that without those guestworkers, the U.S. would have to rely more heavily on imported food.

Even more telling, two in three Americans understand that without access to a reliable workforce, many family farms wouldn’t survive. At a time when there’s growing interest in healthy food and how it’s grown, these numbers matter. Families want fresh, American-grown food. But that only happens if farmers have the workforce to produce it.

A Broken Ag Labor System Is Failing Farmers

The current system isn’t keeping up with the realities of modern agriculture. Farmers need workers both seasonally and year-round, but the H-2A program doesn’t fully meet those needs. At the same time, domestic labor shortages remain severe. When these jobs are posted, less than 1% are ever filled by a domestic applicant, and even fewer stay through the season.

On top of that, farmers face rising costs, complicated regulations and uncertainty around wages and compliance. It’s a system that hasn’t been modernized by Congress in decades. Our labor shortage is holding agriculture back, and it’s threatening the future of our American-grown food supply.

Momentum Is Building for Ag Labor Reform

The good news is that we’re starting to see some movement. Senator Ted Budd recently introduced legislation to codify the administration’s interim final rule on H-2A wages. This is an important step to bring more certainty and clarity for farmers.

We’re also encouraged by ongoing work from House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson following the final report of the bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group. We’ve been working closely with Chairman Thompson and his team and are hopeful to learn more on his next steps soon. Farmers need action, and we appreciate leaders who are stepping up to address this challenge.

Farm Bureau is also proud to co-chair the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, a group of more than 100 organizations representing agricultural employers across the country. Together, we’re raising our voice to make sure lawmakers understand the urgency of the ag labor crisis. When agriculture speaks with one voice, we can achieve results that strengthen farms of all sizes and commodities in every region.

Congress Must Act on Ag Labor Reform

Farmers are ready to be part of the solution. We want a system that works—for farmers, for our workers, and for the future of our food supply.

That means updating guestworker visa programs to meet agriculture’s workforce needs, streamlining regulations, providing long-term certainty, and creating workable solutions that allow experienced, skilled workers to continue contributing to American agriculture.

At the end of the day, this is about more than our farms. It’s about keeping grocery store shelves stocked, supporting rural communities and making sure families across this country continue to have access to safe, affordable, American-grown food.