…before the current contract, agreed to in 2013, is set to expire in September of 2018. Talks first began in 2015, after labor negotiations at west coast seaports forced a…
Immigration Crackdown Making Farm Labor Nervous
Recent government raids targeting undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are causing distress through the agriculture labor sector. Agriculture is heavily dependent on foreign workers and recent arrests made in at…
Midweek Valentine’s a Boon for Growers
…lot of heat, a lot of labor, a lot of chemicals.” Even so, there may still be a future for the California-grown rose. “There is a trend back toward garden…
Agri View: Political Winds
…likely be involved in changes that regulate migrant labor. It is too soon to know what changes we can expect but agriculture officials have already made it known that there…
Net Farm Income Expected to Dip further in 2017
…by 13.1 percent. Labor costs are also forecast to rise 5.4 percent in 2017. Farm asset values are forecast to decline by 1.1 percent in 2017, and farm debt is…
Soy Growers Defend Soymilk
…soymilk-based products, under the premise that the term “milk” is misleading to consumers. In a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Monday, the groups said the…
NCBA Cattle Industry Convention Underway
…on labor in the United States. Bruett said: “It’s very difficult to find someone to work in a packing plant.” He detailed how a majority of the JBS USA packing…
Report Shows Crop Insurance Saved 21,000 Jobs in 2012 Drought
…history of the crop insurance program, says crop insurance helped cover the 2012 drought shortfall and saved 20,900 jobs across Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, with an annual labor…
Agri View: Hard Choices
…are parts of our country where labor shortages have had an impact on harvesting. Now, as planting season approaches, farmers are, in some places, are already trying to line up…
Refugee Regulations Could Squeeze U.S. Meatpackers Labor Pool
…in rural America could face labor shortages. The executive order suspended the refugee program four months and would cut the number of refugees allowed into the United States in half…
40 Percent of Farms Managed by Multiple Operators
…says in 2015, 39 percent of the more than 800,000 U.S. farms had secondary operators. USDA says commercial-sized farms often require more management and labor than an individual can provide….
Bill Would Move H2A Program to USDA
…legislation is sponsored by New York Republicans Elise Stefanik and Chris Collins and would move the H2A immigration program from the Department of Labor to the Department of Agriculture. Stefanik…
TPP is Out; So Now What?
…make sure we have a good, level playing field.” President Trump owns a vineyard in Virginia and uses an H-2A program to find labor, so he is invested in the…
Inflation Up, Food Prices Unchanged
…U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Summary-December, 2016 The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.3 percent in December on a seasonally…