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USAgNet - February 27, 2013
A new, modern guestworker program for agricultural workers is needed so that U.S. farmers and ranchers can continue growing food, tending livestock and contributing to the nation's economy, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman told Congress.
"We want to keep these jobs in America for workers, not outsource them," Stallman testified to the House's Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. Farm Bureau urged lawmakers to implement a new, market-based labor program administered by the Agriculture Department.
The new program would serve as a substitute for and eventually replace the H-2A program now in place, Stallman explained. It would also provide farmers with access to a legal and stable workforce over the long-term. In addition, the new program would provide employers with greater certainty that they will
have access to the workforce they need, when they need it and at a competitive cost.
"Ultimately, agriculture's goal is to develop a program that treats workers fairly, while being efficient and economical for employers to use," Stallman said, noting that workers would be able to work for multiple employers under a structure that enforces worker rights and protects them from exploitation.
He also addressed agriculture's short-term labor needs in his testimony.
AFBF economists estimate that the agricultural economy and the broader U.S. economy are facing $9 billion or more in lost productivity each year if the agriculture labor force issue is not addressed.
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