As the need for more migrant workers grows, so does the need to get comprehensive legislation to address an aging system’s issues. 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Of all the issues today’s farm families face, getting adequate, affordable help for their operations seems to be at the top of the list for many. It was one of the most discussed issues during a recent county tour taken by Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) leadership.

KFB First Vice President Shane Wiseman, who also serves on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Agricultural Labor Issues Advisory Committee, said it has been a challenge for many years and one that seems to have no easy solution.

“I was fortunate enough to travel throughout many areas of the state late last year and more times than not, the issue of farm labor came up in discussions with farmers,” he said. “Having raised tobacco on my farm for many years, we depended on the guest worker program, H-2A, to get most of the help we needed. But it was, and still is a somewhat complicated and expensive program to use.”

Unfortunately, the H-2A program that allows farmers to bring workers from other countries to their operations, is the only program of its kind available.

According to the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration:

“The H-2A temporary agricultural program allows agricultural employers who anticipate a shortage of domestic workers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature. Employment of a seasonal nature is tied to a certain time of year by an event or pattern, such as a short annual growing cycle, and requires labor levels above what is necessary for ongoing operations. Employment is of a temporary nature when the employer's need to fill the position with a temporary worker will, except in extraordinary circumstances, last no longer than one year.”

While there are many issues farm families face in navigating this system, first on the list is the requirement that domestic workers be sought out first for any available farm labor job. The problem with that is, no U.S. workers want those jobs, noted Wiseman.

"As is the case with all those hiring H-2A workers, you must first advertise for domestic help, but rarely do U.S. workers apply for these jobs," he said. “So, the migrant workers are critical to the sustainability of our farms.”

John Walt Boatright, Director of Government Affairs with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), said even though this program is cumbersome and expensive, it has grown over the years due to the growing need for laborers on the farm.

“The last time any comprehensive immigration reform was enacted came (during the Reagan administration) with passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which set up the H-2A program,” he said. “For at least a couple of decades, producers really struggled to use it but over time they have become so reliant on it, the program has grown regardless of the challenges.”

Through the years there have been tweaks to H-2A but no significant enhancements.

"There have been some recent rule changes within the agency that have made a complicated, cost-prohibitive program even more so, some coming in late 2022 and last year," Boatright said. “We've shifted to advocating for improvements to the H-2A program rather than rebuilding a completely new program.”

Boatright said a whole new ag labor reform bill would be the best approach to resolving our longstanding challenges with the system, but congressional oversight over the migrant worker program rests with decisionmakers who are largely unfamiliar with agriculture and farm labor needs.

“The H-2A program falls under the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction, which is often filled with members on both sides of the aisle who have strong views on immigration and other issues under the committee’s purview,” Boatright said. “So that's what makes for a challenge to advocate on this issue, but also an opportunity to educate.

“Additionally, while the Department of Labor administers the program, there are many other agencies are involved, which is one of the reasons why the program is so complicated."

Those agencies have different roles in the H-2A petitioning process and include state workforce offices, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. State and federal inspection agencies also have a role to ensure adequate housing and working conditions exist.

KFB Second Vice President Larry Clark chairs the organization’s Farm Labor Advisory Committee. He has dealt with the H-2A program for nearly 20 years, seeing firsthand the challenges of the program, as well as getting adequate help to the farm.

“Kentucky has a long history of tobacco production, and it’s one of the most labor-intensive crops we have, utilizing many of the migrant workers that come to this state,” he said. “But the number of tobacco producers in this state continues to decline and one of the major reasons is how complicated and expensive it is to get those workers here.”

Clark said he knows of farmers who have given up their operations due to labor issues, not just in the tobacco field but in many other ag sectors.

“It’s a real problem and one we need some assistance on in getting to a solution,” he said. “The workers who come to my farm, year after year, are like family to us and we want to do all we can to raise a crop and keep them coming back. This issue isn’t only about our farm families, it’s about the dedicated migrant workers who have become a part of our families.”     

Another complicating issue about the program is the fact that different regions of the country have varying needs when it comes to farm labor. What works for tobacco producers in Kentucky won't necessarily work for produce growers in California, Wiseman noted.

“In serving on the AFBF Agricultural Labor Issues Advisory Committee, I’ve had the opportunity to hear from farmers in other parts of the country, and while we all have similar issues with the program, we all have a variety of needs depending on many things including the type of ag sectors we are involved in and the time of year in which we need to have these workers on the farm. This can’t be a one-size-fits-all program and often flexibility is not a part of H-2A.”  

In terms of cost, farm families are responsible for paying the processing fees associated with the program, for transportation getting with workers to the farm and back home again, and, of course, the wages paid while these workers are employed.

Wage rates vary from state to state but the one constant is each year they seem to increase. According to information from the AFBF, "The U.S. national average wage rate has increased every year for the last 20 years. In fact, it has more than doubled since 2005. However, the rate of that year-over-year change has varied considerably. Between 2005 and 2018, the year-over-year increase averaged 2.9 percent but has increased significantly since. Since 2019, the yearly increases have averaged 5.9 percent, nearly double the rate of change in the earlier period."

These increases have come while crop prices have been volatile at best over the last few years, and farm input prices have increased exponentially over the same period. 

Boatright emphasized that while many of the adjustments made to the program over the years are aimed at making sure workers are protected, these regulations could miss the mark by requiring more and more of farmers, especially small family farms. Ultimately, it could lead to a forced business decision: shift to less labor-intensive crops or get out of production completely.

 He also emphasized that there are reasons why these workers continue to come back year after year to the same farming operations.

“It’s because of the farmer's willingness to take care of them beyond what the regulations require,” he said. “Farm families are working with these migrant workers, side-by-side, daily, and often for 15 or 20 years. They need and trust them.”

Boatright encourages Farm Bureau members to remain diligent in their advocacy efforts, something that keeps the issue in front of lawmakers.

“We should be telling these good stories which are replicated hundreds of times across Kentucky and throughout the country,” he said. “The H-2A program provides adequate protection to workers. We must continue to urge Congress for common sense changes to modernize the program that also reflect the market realities on the ground."