The National Council of Agricultural Employers recently held its annual meeting; John Hollay, who recently joined as the organization’s president and CEO following Michael Marsh’s retirement, says there’s a real change in the way ag labor is being viewed in Washington, D.C. While securing the border was a major talking point before, that focus has now shifted from border security to labor stability.
“Legislators are really looking at this issue differently,” Hollay says. “In the past, it has always been an issue of immigration, and now it’s really a conversation about how we get you all the economic tools that you need to ensure that American agriculture can continue to compete and outcompete the world. From all the speakers, both Democrats and Republicans, and from the administration, the message overall was that we understand what you are trying to do to help the food economy, and we want to make sure that you have the tools that you need to do that.”
He says that it’s also being seen by legislators as something critically important to their constituents.
“There are a lot of members who are looking at these issues going, ‘I need something to demonstrate to my folks back home that I accomplished something here,’ and it’s viewed as more of an economic benefit, not only to producers, but to rural economies. … So, now the conversation is an economic one, and maybe that’s a more viable one for an election.”
Hollay was also part of a team that met at the White House. While much of that conversation focused on the benefits of an interim final rule (IFR) on the Adverse Effect Wage Rate for growers and its critical role in the food system, Hollay says discussions also touched on a major pain point: the delays those in the H-2A program are seeing through the State Department.
“Growers are having to incur the cost of housing, feeding and protecting the workers while these delays are happening,” he says. “And in some cases, those costs are exceeding millions of dollars for growers. So, to ensure that we actually get the long-term value from the IFR, we need to make sure that it’s actually being implemented in the way that it was envisioned.”
Bipartisan Momentum for H-2A Reform
U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, who spoke at the annual meeting, is working on a piece of legislation to reform the H-2A program. While Thompson says the farm bill was his No. 1 priority, ag labor is No. 2.
“I think what he expressed was that he had done the long work in putting together that task force last Congress and putting together the recommendations and then marrying that with some of the actions that he’s seen from the president,” Hollay says. “He really has taken the starring role to move bipartisan agricultural legislation forward, and I think he’s got a path forward to do it. That’s what we’re most encouraged by.”
Hollay says that need for codified H-2A reforms is critical to offer growers predictability in the years ahead.
“People are always begging for, ‘What can I plan for next year? What can I plan for the year after that?’” he says. “That kind of predictability will bring the economic stability and benefit that we’re all seeking.”
Breaking Down Agency Silos
USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Baden also talked about the collaborative environment in which the departments are working together when it comes to the interim final rule. Hollay says representatives from the Department of Labor, the State Department and the Small Business Administration also spoke at the event.
“All of the comments revolved not only around their specific piece of H-2A and what they can do to make the user experience better with it, but about how they are coordinating together to ensure that you don’t find success at the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security and then run into a wall at the Department of State. That will be an ongoing conversation, but the fact that they’re thinking about it the way we are ... was certainly encouraging.”
Hollay says during his time working in D.C. on ag labor, he’s never seen the departments approach the topic with a collaborative mindset.
“This just doesn’t happen on this issue,” he says. “It does in other spaces. I’ve heard stories, wonderful rumors about it, but it hasn’t necessarily happened here. So, to see it be a priority for the administration, not just something that they felt they had to do but something they wanted to do, is so encouraging.”
Addressing Year-Round Gap and Costly Delays
Also of importance is the conversation surrounding the expansion of the H-2A program into dairy, mushrooms, controlled environment agriculture — industries with year-round production that are unable to access the seasonal guest worker program.
“I think everyone is starting to realize why there is a benefit to having those. Industries in the solution from a political standpoint as well as from just an actual benefit to that portion of the industry,” Hollay says. ”I think the more we in agriculture stop siloing ourselves off into what is our individual commodities’ challenge, the more successful we’re going to be. Those kinds of issues, those kinds of divisions, have torn us down in the past, and the way that the conversation went, the way it was received afterwards, was really encouraging to think maybe again, we’ve turned a corner here.”
Hollay says expanding the H-2A guest worker program will also help resolve fears that might surround immigration enforcement.
“Let’s give our folks legal options,” he says. “We’re starting to realize that doesn’t just mean me; it means my neighbor too, and they might be farming something different.”
