Labor
As the Adverse Effect Wage Rate continues to climb year after year for the H-2A guestworker program with little clarity on how the USDA calculates the rates, organizations are saying, “enough is enough.”
After a week of ICE seemingly targeting dairy farms, California produce farms and a meat packing plant in Nebraska, President Donald Trump is reportedly ordering the Department of Homeland Security to exclude farms from immigration raids.
If the next generation isn’t coming back, it’s not the end. But it is time for a new plan.
“We must ensure that we make a way for young and beginning farmers to fill our boots,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Top of the list: Reforming the FSA loan program, regulatory action to disincentivize federal funding for solar panels on productive farmland and expanding permitting of unused or underused federal land for long-term leases.
A sneak peak of Farm Journal’s leading-edge survey insights illustrates strategic solutions that generate renewed confidence, ensuring a promising path forward for the industry.
The shrinking pool of workers in rural areas is a real concern as populations decline and economic opportunities increase in countries that have historically been sources of agricultural labor for the U.S.
This Colorado operation may have faced adversity, but Marc Arnusch’s willingness to reinvent his family farm is why he’s been named the 2025 Top Producer of the Year.
Since being confirmed on Feb. 13, Secretary Rollins has been in the Washington D.C., USDA office for a few hours. Most of her time has been spent visiting farmers, ranchers and ag businesses in Kentucky, Kansas and at Top Producer Summit.
President Trump’s focus on mass deportation is creating a sense of nervousness that hasn’t been felt since the Obama Administration. Yet, the bigger concern is a H-2A system that’s become too costly for many farmers to use.