New York Farm Bureau is backing federal legislation that would change the H-2A guest worker program, saying the bill would help farmers address labor shortages and rising costs.
The Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act was introduced by GT Thompson of Pennsylvania, with original cosponsors including Representatives Claudia Tenney, Nicholas Langworthy and Josh Riley of New York.
New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said the proposal addresses one of the largest concerns facing New York farmers.
"These changes to the H-2A program will make a huge difference in our farms' ability to hire workers for longer periods of time while improving efficiencies across the board," Fisher said in the announcement.
The organization said the bill would require the H-2A wage to be the highest of a collective bargaining agreement, the Adverse Effect Wage Rate or a federal, state or local minimum wage. It would also limit year-to-year AEWR changes to no more than a 3.5% increase or a 1.5% decrease.
The bill would clarify the length of a temporary job contract as a maximum of 350 days, which Farm Bureau said would allow more farmers to use the program. It would also expand eligibility to include services such as aquaculture, livestock harvest and forestry.
The proposal would create an online platform as a single access point for employers, employees and relevant agencies. It would also clarify the roles of federal agencies involved in the program to reduce duplicative work and create more consistent implementation policies and procedures.
Fisher said New York farms need access to a reliable agricultural workforce because the state has a wide range of labor-intensive agricultural commodities.
New York Farm Bureau also said board member Ryan Akin has been in Washington, D.C., this week for a fly-in coordinated by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Akin, a dairy farmer and member of the federation's Labor Issue Advisory Committee, attended a press conference with farmers from across the country.
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