NMPF Endorses Landmark Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act
July 7, 2026
NMPF lauded House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson’s new Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, significant bipartisan agricultural labor reform legislation that includes key structural improvements needed for dairy.
NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud, Chairman Brian Rexing, and Immigration Task Force Chair Cricket Jacquier joined Thompson, bill cosponsors and industry allies to announce the bill’s introduction at a news conference June 30.
“The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act represents the most significant reform to the ag workforce we’ve seen in decades. It is particularly critical for dairy farmers, who have been effectively shut out of the nation’s primary legal agricultural guestworker program,” Doud said in remarks at the bill’s unveiling.
“NMPF will rally its advocates across dairy and all of agriculture to support this bill, and it stands ready to help build momentum in the House, secure a Senate companion bill, and ultimately get this legislation to the president’s desk,” he said.
The legislation contains necessary wins for the dairy industry, including finally providing access for dairy farmers to the H-2A ag guestworker program by removing the seasonal requirements that have prevented year-round dairy farms from using the program. The bill also reduces program costs, streamlines the H-2A process and provides a mechanism for current dairy workers to transition to H-2A, critically preventing major workforce disruptions as dairy farmers move toward a stable, legal workforce.
NMPF is working to expand the list of congressional supporters beyond the legislation’s initial 49 House cosponsors and is collaborating with congressional leaders and industry allies to secure a Senate companion bill. NMPF also has crafted a call to action on its website to generate greater grassroots support for the legislation.
