News

Ag Workforce Coalition: Immigration reform needed now

The Ag Workforce Coalition is urging the White House to act now on immigration reform.

Chuck Connor tells Brownfield labor shortages in agriculture are not too far from a crisis level.  “It is affecting output, it’s affecting economic development, it’s affecting imported products coming into the country because we can’t successful produce and harvest them here.”

The Ag Workforce Coalition, representing 70 ag groups from across the country, has sent a letter a letter to President Trump asking for short and long-term solutions to labor shortages.

Conner says there needs to be a viable guest worker program in the U.S. and reform is necessary for a legal and authorized workforce.  “We have 1.2 million workers that currently reside on our farms and ranches across America.  This is a workforce that we simply cannot afford to lose.  They’ve been there a longtime for the most part, they’re trained, they’re skilled, we can’t replace them.”

A recent study by the American Farm Bureau Federation found an enforcement-only approach to immigration that causes agriculture to lose access to its workforce would result in ag output falling by 30 to 60 billion dollars.

AUDIO: Interview with Chuck Connor