NASDA URGES ACTION ON AGRICULTURE WORKFORCE LAW

News Date March 03, 2008

       State agriculture leaders are urging Congress and the administration to quickly take action to ensure a viable and available workforce for production agriculture and agriculture-related industries. NASDA members recently approved a resolution supporting agricultural workforce needs which was offered by Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks and Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Michael Strain on behalf of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA). 
       NASDA President and North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson sent letters to key congressional committees, and the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The letters note that food processing, landscaping, seafood, and other industries depend upon H-2B workers for seasonal employment. The current program caps the number of H-2B visas that can be issued to 66,000 per year. A statutory exemption of some returning workers from counting against that cap expired on September 30, 2007. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 experienced H-2B workers will not be able to reenter legally to sustain these industries unless Congress acts to renew the returning worker exemption. NASDA's letters urge policy makers to renew the H-2B returning worker exemption immediately. 
       Johnson pointed out that many agriculture and related industries are losing sales, profitability, and the ability to survive. NASDA also supports the "Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act" (AgJOBS), bipartisan legislation which addresses critical labor needs of production agriculture. A copy of the letters is posted on the NASDA website. (Contact: Charlie Ingram)