In Washington, progress usually comes in inches, not miles. But this past month, we got two real steps forward on the ag labor front. First, the Trump administration clarified how H-2A visas could apply to dairy, directing petition adjudicators to review applications on a case-by-case basis instead of disqualifying farms just because the work runs year-round. The clarification has its limits, since the “temporary or seasonal” requirement is still on the books, but it’s a step in the right direction.
The bigger deal, though, is what came right behind it: the introduction of House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson’s Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act. This bill would tackle the dairy industry’s statutory problems with H-2A by eliminating the seasonal provision and allowing employment contracts to run up to 350 days. It would also cut down on duplicative paperwork and unruly costs and include a narrow path for current employees to transition into the H-2A program. It’s the kind of structural fix our industry has needed since 1986. Advancing this bill will take tremendous work, particularly in the current ultra-partisan environment, and we’ve got roughly 30 legislative days between now and the fall midterm elections. Now it’s on us to make some noise and push this thing through the House, and eventually the Senate. We’ve got momentum. Let’s not waste it. Check out our latest CEO’s Corner to read more.
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