Tag: dairy labor

Acting Secretary Shown Labor Crisis via NM Dairy

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF joined Western Growers in New Mexico on Aug. 14 to host Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling and provide a firsthand look at the labor challenges facing U.S. agriculture.

Sonderling toured DFA member John DeRuyter’s dairy farm near Las Cruces, then joined an ag labor roundtable with farmers and agricultural leaders from across the state.

NMPF underscored dairy’s acute and ongoing labor needs during the visit and pressed Sonderling to collaborate with the president and Congress to deliver real ag labor reform. Sonderling has led key roles at the Department of Labor and was nominated for Secretary in June.

This visit is part of NMPF’s sustained, on the ground push to keep dairy’s workforce crisis front and center in Washington. NMPF also is making passage of the Securing America’s Workforce Act (SAWA) a top legislative priority. The legislation would modernize the outdated H-2A program to finally work for dairy’s year-round labor needs, providing a stable, legal workforce that farms depend on every single day.

NMPF is working every angle, administrative and legislative, to get this done. To get involved, visit nmpf.org/take-action.

With Canada, Beef and Ag Labor, August was Not a “Recess”

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The term “August recess,” used to describe the traditional slow period when lawmakers and federal workers alike escaped Washington’s heat and humidity, was a misnomer this year. From critical trade negotiations with Canada, to a frustrating development on beef tariffs, to the ongoing effort to make ag-labor reform real, August has been one of the year’s busiest months for the dairy industry in Washington. (And that’s without even mentioning the Senate version of the farm bill, which is in temporary limbo after a failed committee vote.)

We’ve been keeping up with every development, speaking out and acting as needed on behalf of our members. Here’s a rundown of key issues, and how we’ve stood on them.

On Canada. With USMCA talks with Canada broken down and the potential for retaliatory tariffs in both directions hanging over both economies, including several dairy products, the U.S.-Canada trade relationship is at an impasse, at least for the moment. This may be surprising to many who don’t closely follow the traditionally friendly relationship – but in dairy, this showdown has been decades in the making.

Under the USMCA trade agreement negotiated during the first Trump term, Canada committed to providing meaningful additional duty-free access for U.S. dairy exports through a series of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). Canada’s administration of those TRQs has repeatedly resulted in chronic under-use, reducing the benefit for American dairy farmers. Canada also continues to exploit loopholes to sidestep USMCA on dairy protein exports.

NMPF and our partners at the U.S. Dairy Export Council have long urged the White House to make fixing this a priority. The Trump team has consistently called out Canada’s disregard for its USMCA commitments on dairy market access. Canada needs to stop looking for workarounds and instead sit down in good faith to resolve these long-standing dairy issues. Canada’s retaliation against U.S. goods is disappointing, but all it’s doing is forcing the U.S. hand. A cool-down would be welcome; but must include a dairy market access fix. The objective should be for both our countries to prevent increased friction and build on the progress made through weeks of negotiations.

While we consistently offer our expertise and assistance to support the Administration on improving U.S.-Canadian dairy trade, we also believe it is important to explain the unintended consequences of federal intervention in agricultural commodity markets such as this recent decision to eliminate the tariff on imported beef.

Cull cow and calf sales have become a key economic driver for U.S. dairy farmers, equating to roughly 20% of annual dairy farm income, and more than 20% of the U.S. beef production is now being supplied by dairy farms. Current beef prices have helped push dairy cow numbers to the highest point in the United States since 1992; meanwhile U.S. milk production is up 2.7% versus last year. Both trends help keep beef and dairy products affordable for consumers; dairy is stepping up to contribute to solving the consumer challenge of higher beef prices.

Rewarding imports sends the wrong message to U.S. dairy farmers and manufacturers who are investing billions of dollars to grow the domestic supply of beef and dairy products. The decision to remove duties on imports of 300,000 metric tons of beef over the next 90 days will have a short-term, muted price impact for consumers. But the effects on both dairy and beef producers could be felt for some time by delaying the necessary economic signal sent to U.S. producers to increase beef production.

While all that has been going on, we’ve continued our efforts to see the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, landmark ag-labor legislation, become law. The election-year calendar makes passage in 2026 a challenge; but we’re doing our best to ensure that when the political moment for real reform arrives, Congress knows that change is needed and that a powerful coalition won’t settle for anything less than progress.

Since the June 30 introduction of the bill, which would finally grant dairy farms meaningful access to the H-2A visa program and make that program more workable, we have:

  • Coordinated more than 100 Capitol Hill meetings with lawmakers to advocate for SAWA’s passage as part of our state associations summit.
  • Sent a letter along with eight of our member cooperatives and nearly all state dairy associations among the more than 450 agriculture groups, businesses and associations who collectively urged SAWA passage on Aug. 10.
  • Joined Western Growers in hosting acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling in New Mexico to discuss the ag labor crisis. The Aug. 14 visit included a tour to DFA member John DeRuyter’s dairy outside of Las Cruces. Sonderling will be a critical voice in getting the Trump administration’s support in securing H-2A reforms.
  • Been active on social media in showing the need for the bill and making folks aware of how important this legislation is. That social media campaign will be expanded in September as it complements a broader, agriculture wide effort to show support for Thompson other leaders for positive change.
  • And finally, our  Advocacy Alert is drawing both dairy farmers and their allies into the debate.

With each passing year, the idea that Washington slows down in August is increasingly a relic of a bygone era. The world is too connected, the conflicts too intense, the needs too real and urgent to pause. And if Washington doesn’t, we don’t either. These have been just a few of the ways we’ve served our members during the “recess.” And a challenging fall awaits.

Dairy Labor Reform Momentum Builds

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

Progress in Washington is often measured in increments, one step at a time. But in the past month, dairy took two steps forward on ag labor: A clarification from the Trump administration regarding H-2A visas as they apply to dairy, followed by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson’s introduction of comprehensive agricultural labor reform legislation, the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act.

For decades, dairy farmers have operated within a fundamental contradiction: Their labor needs are an everyday of the year constant, yet Congress designed the H‑2A visa program for seasonal agriculture. That mismatch has left dairy farmers effectively shut out of the nation’s primary legal agricultural guestworker system.

The recent clarification from the Department of Homeland Security on H-2A eligibility for dairy, supported by USDA and the Department of Labor, attempts to ease that tension. By directing visa petition adjudicators to consider dairy applications on a case-by-case basis and recognizing legitimate seasonal spikes, such as during calving or feed harvest, it attempts to expand the program’s accessibility for dairy operations. It also corrects a longstanding rigidity in how applications were evaluated, in which year-round production was often treated as automatic disqualification.

The change’s practical effects are limited by the scope of H-2A itself, for which eligibility still hinges on work being temporary or seasonal. For most dairy farms, where labor demand is continuous and predictable, that requirement continues to pose a significant barrier. While some producers could benefit, the clarification is unlikely to fundamentally reshape dairy’s access to a legal workforce. That said, the announcement was still welcome recognition from this administration of dairy’s labor challenges.

Those challenges underscore why Chairman Thompson’s Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act is so consequential. The bipartisan bill, unveiled June 30, represents the most meaningful step in years toward fixing a broken farm workforce system, offering structural and legal reform dairy has long needed.

At its core, the bill would address the structural flaw that has hampered dairy for decades. By redefining “temporary” work based on the duration of an employment contract, allowing contracts of up to 350 days regardless of whether the work itself is year-round, it would align federal labor policy with modern agriculture’s operational reality. For dairy, that shift is potentially transformative.

Instead of limiting farms to a seasonal framework, Thompson’s proposal would allow them to access H‑2A legally and predictably by structuring employment contracts appropriately. In doing so, it opens the program to operations that have long been excluded, not because they lacked need, but because the law failed to reflect how they operate.

The bill goes further. It seeks to streamline the application process, reduce administrative burdens, and address cost concerns that have deterred employers from using H‑2A even when eligible. These aren’t incremental adjustments; they are reforms designed to be inclusive of vital labor needs on the dairy farm.

Perhaps the most important provision of the bill for dairy, beyond providing dairy access to an improved H-2A, is the targeted waiver of the bar of admission on past unlawful presence, providing the current dairy workforce a means to transition to a workable, agriculture visa program. While it may face scrutiny from some lawmakers, this provision shows Chairman Thompson’s understands what a major workforce disruption would do to the food supply chain as dairy farms transition to H-2A.

Just as important is the legislation’s broader purpose: to modernize a farm labor framework that’s remained largely unchanged since 1986. For dairy producers, workforce stability is not optional. It underpins animal care, milk quality, and overall farm viability. By creating a more flexible and reliable visa program, Thompson’s bill moves the industry closer to that stability in a way that we’ve not seen in decades.

The administration’s H-2A clarification demonstrates an appreciation that the current visa program does not work for dairy. Chairman Thompson’s legislation takes it further by fixing the underlying structural problems with H-2A. Ultimately, the path to a secure, stable dairy workforce runs through Congress. Meaningful, lasting change requires rewriting existing law. That is precisely what Chairman Thompson’s proposal aims to do.

For dairy farmers navigating tight margins, rising costs, and global competition, seeing that progress is more than policy: It’s the foundation for dairy’s workforce and economic sustainability in the years ahead.

Now the duty falls to the dairy industry and our friends across the agriculture sector to do all we can to see the Strengthening Agriculture’s Workforce Act through. NMPF has prepared a call to action that allows dairy farmers and their advocates to contact their House member and ask for support. That’s a step you can take toward ag-labor reform, building on the two steps taken in Washington in recent weeks.

And there will need to be more. Beyond building strong support from House lawmakers, the Senate will need a companion bill to get legislation to the president’s desk. Many steps lie ahead — but the path is clear. NMPF stands ready to lead the charge, alongside our members and the broader industry, to build the momentum needed for success.

 

Gregg Doud

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF Praises Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud:  

“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.  

“First and foremost, this bill finally grants dairy access to H-2A by removing the seasonal requirements of the program and allowing contracts up to 350 days of the year. The bill goes further, streamlining the application process, reducing administrative burdens, and addressing cost concerns that have deterred employers from using H-2A even when eligible.   

“Perhaps the most important provision of the bill for dairy beyond providing access, is the targeted mechanism to provide the current dairy workforce a means to transition to a workable visa program. This will ensure that we don’t face a major workforce disruption as dairy farms transition to H-2A – and that’s critical, because workforce stability underpins animal care, milk quality, and overall farm viability.  

“I applaud Chairman Thompson and the other original co-sponsors for introducing this bill. Chairman Thompson, thank you for leading the way, as you so often have to the most important issues facing agriculture. 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.”   

NMPF’s Hain Explains the Animal Care Risks of ICE raids on dairies

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF Chief Veterinary Officer Meggan Hain explains for listeners of Dairy Radio Now how law-enforcement interventions on dairy farms represent a real and immediate threat to animal welfare on U.S. dairies, as workers who understand how to properly take care of dairy cattle are taken away, with no immediate replacements.

Flurry of Ag Labor Reform Work Closes Out Congress

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF joined with other agricultural organizations and farmworker groups in one final concerted effort in December to enact agricultural labor reform by the end of 2022, an effort that ultimately stalled but may create a framework for future progress.

Since March 2021, Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) had been working to negotiate a bipartisan agreement for a Senate ag labor reform bill that would build upon and improve the House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act. The two Senators had made progress toward a bipartisan compromise bill by December – an effort supported in a letter signed by more than 350 ag organizations sent Dec. 6 – but were unable to resolve all issues needed to introduce a bipartisan measure.

From those discussions, Senator Bennet used the points of agreement he had come to with Senator Crapo as the starting point for a Bennet-only ag labor reform bill. That bill, the Affordable and Secure Food Act, gained NMPF’s support by addressing dairy’s two overarching workforce needs – providing protection for current workers and their families, and providing dairy access to the H-2A program – in spite of other weaknesses in the bill, such as its cap on the number of year-round worker visas.

NMPF participated in Sen. Bennet’s press conference announcing the bill’s introduction Dec. 15, and NMPF’s Claudia Larson joined a panel discussion broadcast by Agri-Pulse which focused on ag labor reform and the Affordable and Secure Food Act. In addition to NMPF-targeted outreach to numerous Senate Republican offices, NMPF also continued working with the Agricultural Workforce Coalition – an umbrella organization representing farm groups – to send a clear message to Senate leadership that ag-labor reform is urgent and necessary.

Those efforts fell short. Ultimately, Sen. Bennet’s measure was not included in the government spending bill to which it needed to be attached so it could receive a Congressional vote in 2022. However, the reform efforts and public pressure built in the 117th Congress have left a nationwide impression on the urgent need for ag labor reform. These efforts have laid an important foundation for future work in DC, and NMPF will continue leading the charge to ensure dairy’s needs are represented in any future reforms.

Dairy ‘Cliffhangers’ Need Resolution

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Cliffhangers are great in movies, but they’re frustrating in public policy. Congress is entering its traditional August recess with a big not-yet-done list on topics ranging from infrastructure to immigration. For the sake of dairy farmers, we’d like to see faster movement.

But hope and hard work are dairy strengths, and we at NMPF continue our efforts to make sure that at least some of these cliffhangers resolve quickly and positively. Each gain, big and small, improves livelihoods. Here are a few cliffhangers awaiting resolution as lawmakers leave Washington and head to their districts to reconnect at county fairs and town halls. (Feel free to tell them NMPF says hello.)

  • USDA’s Dairy Donation Program. This initiative provides compensation for dairy-product donations, with support retroactive to last Dec. 27. The $400 million program, part of a COVID relief package Congress approved that month, is largely ready to go, thanks to USDA’s diligence, but it’s awaiting signoff from the White House Office of Management and Budget. Final details are expected to be worked out soon, encouraging dairy community efforts to aid needy families through food banks and other distributors.
  • Direct Producer Support. USDA has indicated plans to offer details within the next few weeks on other COVID-related initiatives to provide direct relief to dairy producers. In response to NMPF entreaties, USDA is seeking to reimburse dairy producers for uncompensated losses they’ve suffered when traditional milk price relationships were turned upside down last year. Meanwhile, the Supplemental DMC program would allow producers whose annual production was below 5 million pounds in 2014, but has modestly increased, to receive corresponding payments. This not only aids small producers; it increases the amount of money available to dairy in the next farm bill. Finally, we’re seeking to correct a flaw in last year’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program to help producers who experienced serious losses due to the pandemic but saw their assistance hindered by CFAP payment caps. NMPF has spearheaded efforts to remedy this imbalance with USDA.
  • Programs that advance dairy’s Net Zero Initiative goals. As NMPF’s Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Paul Bleiberg, noted in a recent NMPF podcast, Congress is making progress in several areas that will help dairy reach its ambitious goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Growing Climate Solutions Act, which passed the U.S. Senate by a 92-8 vote in June, encourages better-functioning environmental markets, which will help farmers achieve the industry’s net zero goal. Meanwhile, an investment tax-credit bill for greenhouse-gas-reducing technologies is making headway on Capitol Hill, and Congress is considering enhancing conservation policy to encourage climate-friendly agricultural practices and markets that compensate farmers for being stewardship leaders.
  • Finally, addressing dairy’s ag-labor crisis. Perpetually among the heaviest lifts in Congress, agricultural labor reform has at least some momentum this year via the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in March. Senate discussions remain behind-the-scenes, but we have positioned dairy prominently in this debate via the many opportunities we’ve had to spotlight dairy’s labor needs, ranging from a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on agricultural labor issues and public events with key federal officials to the inclusion of language expanding the current H-2A visa program to accommodate dairy in a recent appropriations bill. These are the types of smaller actions that lead to larger ones, and we will continue this drumbeat to prod Congress to get the job done.

This list, of course, isn’t comprehensive. Dairy’s activities in Washington range widely, from legislation on school milk and plant-based product labeling to forceful advocacy on trade. And other issues, especially those related to milk pricing, are sure to heat up in the months ahead, leaving no shortage of suspense in Washington.

But progress does occur, and we’re looking forward to seeing more progress soon. Washington may be taking a “break,” but we aren’t. And we look forward to helping to resolve at least a few “cliffhangers” in the weeks and months to come.

Dairy Pivotal to July Ag Labor Reform Progress

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Ag labor reform activity heated up in July, with dairy at the heart of action crucial to advancing long-term goals of greater workforce stability.

In the House of Representatives, Congressmen Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced an amendment to the FY 2022 appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security that would allow dairy producers to access the H-2A agricultural guestworker program for the fiscal year. The amendment would remove the seasonality requirement for H-2A visas for the fiscal year and allow farmers working in year-round sectors to hire H-2A workers to supplement their domestic workforce during the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

Although the amendment was approved by the full House Appropriations Committee on July 13, that doesn’t make the much-needed reform real, as amendments to appropriations measures that focus on immigration reform typically are removed from final packages. Still, as explained by Claudia Larson, NMPF Senior Director of Government Relations, in a July 15 “Adams on Agriculture” podcast, the amendment’s positive effects go beyond the amendment itself, as it adds momentum to our wider effort bipartisan ag labor reform efforts.

On the Senate side, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing July 21 focusing on the importance of immigrant farmworkers, with testimony from USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack followed by farmers and farmworker organization representatives. Former dairy farmer Linnea Kooistra of Illinois was invited to testify by Committee Chair Richard Durbin (D-IL) on her more than 40 years of experience in the industry, sharing the urgency of dairy’s labor needs.

NMPF in a statement thanked the committee and Durbin for highlighting the importance of immigrant farmworkers to the nation’s food supply and rural communities and called on the Senate to craft its own ag labor reform measure, building on and improving upon the Farm Workforce Modernization Act that passed in the House in March.

Beyond Capitol Hill, Vilsack and Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY) hosted an ag roundtable in dairy-dense Cobleskill, New York on July 16, hearing from farmers and farmworkers on the unworkability of the current ag labor system, with dairy producers speaking to the special challenges the industry faces. NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern commended USDA and Rep. Delgado for supporting ag labor reform and organizing the roundtable meeting, noting that conversations need “to turn into action in congressional corridors so that farmers and farmworkers can benefit from a workable labor system.”

NMPF will continue its work building bipartisan support for ag workforce reform legislation that will address dairy’s workforce challenges, including protecting current workers and providing dairy meaningful access to a guestworker program that allows producers to remain competitive.

NMPF Statement on Senate Judiciary Hearing on Essential Immigrant Farmworkers

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“NMPF thanks the Senate Judiciary Committee and its chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) for holding today’s hearing highlighting the importance of immigrant farmworkers to our nation’s food supply and rural communities. We are also grateful to Linnea Kooistra, formerly an Illinois dairy farmer for over 40 years, for testifying at the hearing and giving voice to this critical issue for dairy.

“Immigrant employees are vital to the dairy industry, with an estimated 79% of the U.S. milk supply produced on farms that employ immigrant workers. Dairy farmers know firsthand of dedicated and skilled teams that are led by and include immigrants; most producers also can speak to the challenges farms and rural communities face due to uncertainty surrounding the farm workforce.

“That’s why NMPF has been a leader in agricultural workforce reform efforts that address two areas of reform that are essential to solve America’s ag labor crisis. First: We must provide an earned legal protection for our current workers and their families. Second: We must reform the agricultural guestworker visa program so dairy and other year-round industries can use it to supplement the domestic workforce when needed.

“Dairy farmers currently cannot use the H-2A guestworker program because they produce milk year-round. Providing an earned legal protection for current workers is crucial, but it narrowly addresses only one aspect of the crisis. We must also reform the ag labor system so dairy farmers can hire legal guestworkers and do not remain trapped in a still-broken ag labor system moving forward. Both features must be present in any real solution.

“NMPF again thanks the Senate Judiciary Committee for today’s hearing and urges the Senate to seize the present opportunity to craft its own ag workforce reform bill that both provides legal protections to our current workers and restructures H-2A. Do not miss this chance for a real solution that helps farmers and farmworkers and supports them as they continue their crucial work of feeding our nation and the world.”

Dairy Farmers Spotlight Ag Labor Reform Needs in Roundtable with Vilsack, Delgado

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Dairy farmers are urging the government to address dairy’s acute labor shortages — and the need for the U.S. Senate to craft a counterpart to the House-passed bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act – in meetings today with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY), culminating in a roundtable discussion at SUNY-Cobleskill in Cobleskill, New York.

Vilsack and Delgado will talk with farmers and farmworkers to address the unworkability of current farm-labor policies. Dairy faces special challenges as a year-round, around-the-clock agricultural sector because the current rules of the H-2A guestworker visa program limits its use to only the temporary and seasonal labor needs of agricultural employers.

“Unfortunately, the Department of Labor hasn’t made available the current H-2A program for a commodity that ‘harvests’ its product multiple times a day, every day,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation in a statement before the event. “We commend USDA and Rep. Delgado for supporting ag labor reform legislation and organizing this important discussion.”

NMPF supports the Farm Workforce Modernization Act as a vehicle for additional policy improvements and to prod Senate legislation that can be reconciled into a final bill that can pass both houses of Congress. Delgado was an early cosponsor of the legislation, which passed the House of Representatives by a solid bipartisan margin in 2019 and again in March. To build momentum for a solution, Vilsack hosted a bipartisan roundtable last month with key Senate negotiators and agricultural stakeholders, including NMPF.

“Without Senate action, the hard-won progress lawmakers have made on ag-labor issues won’t bring the solutions farmers need,” he said. “We need this conversation to turn into action in congressional corridors so that farmers and farmworkers can benefit from a workable labor system.”