Congressman Ted Yoho of Florida’s 3rd District was at the 2020 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference, talking about guest worker legislation. “This is a bill that will solve a problem for illegal immigration in this country on the lower skilled tiers,” said Yoho. “We give opportunity for people before they come into the country to apply to this program. …
AgButler Serves to Offer Farm Labor Solutions
Thanks to the growing “gig economy” we can now easily get an Uber or Lyft, get food from different restaurants with GrubHub or DoorDash, find a babysitter or a handyman and more, all with our phones. Now the gig economy is coming to agriculture. AgButler is a gig economy platform that serves as a solution to a rural labor shortage …
Alliance Brings OSHA Together with Fertilizer and Ag Retailers
A new alliance between industry and regulators shows fertilizer and ag retailers are serious about safety. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) joined with The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) and the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) to provide training resources and safety information for workers, emergency responders, and communities within the agricultural retail and supply industry. ARA …
President Recognizes Farm Workers in Border Plan
President Donald Trump presented a detailed plan to the public on Saturday in an attempt to end the government shut down and strengthen border security. “Both sides in Washington must simply come together, listen to each other, put down their armor, build trust, reach across the aisle, and find solutions,” the president said as he laid out a compromise incorporating …
AFBF Hosts Webcast On Labor Visa Backlogs
Delays from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the processing of visas for farm workers are fast approaching crisis proportions, increasing the threat that crops will rot in the field on many farms this year, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall said in a media conference call this week. …
Candidate Trump Addresses #Farm Labor Issues
Like Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump also had the opportunity to address the issue of immigration as it relates to farm labor during a CNN town hall forum Tuesday night. Wisconsin dairy farmer John Pagel explained to Trump that the state’s dairy industry “is being challenged right now by having a labor force dependent on an immigration …
Ag Groups React to EPA Farmworker Standards Update
Ag groups are reacting to the Environmental Protection Agency’s final revisions to the Worker Protection Standard. The American Farm Bureau Federation worries the government is getting away from a science-based approach in guarding against risk. “Farm Bureau shares the agency’s desire to protect workers, but we are concerned that the agency is piling regulatory costs on farmers and ranchers that …
EPA Updates Farmworker Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released updated farmworker standards to provide health protections under the law similar to those already afforded to workers in other industries. “We depend on farmworkers every day to help put the food we eat on America’s dinner tables—and they deserve fair, equitable working standards with strong health and safety protections,” said EPA Administrator Gina …
Ag is Target for Guest Worker Audits
Agriculture has a target on its back when it comes to compliance with guest worker regulations, according to Eileen Scofield an immigration law attorney who held a workshop at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting this week. “Currently there’s three agencies that focus on employers but for ag in particular there’s about five or six other separate laws which are …
No Agriculture in Obama Immigration Action
President Obama made good on his promise to make changes in the nation’s “broken” immigration system, but there’s no mention of agriculture or farm workers in his plan. “In practical terms, we do not expect the president’s initiative to help America’s farmers deal with the real labor challenges they face,” said American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman in a …
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