The National Council of Agriculture Employers has sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins urging her to investigate an unexplained halt in the disbursement of federal grant funds previously allocated and awarded to farmers to help address critical labor shortages and reduce irregular migration.
The trade association said USDA’s Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Grant Program, or FLSP, awarded $50 million in federal grant funding last year to 141 awardees in 40 states and Puerto Rico, reaching 177 agricultural operations throughout the U.S. The NCAE said the program’s website describes the FLSP as a way to help address labor shortages, mitigate costs associated with the H-2A temporary seasonal visa program and reduce irregular migration from northern Central American countries.
“America’s farmers and ranchers who engaged in the FLSP program did so in good faith and with the understanding that USDA would uphold their end of the commitment,” NCAE President and CEO Michael Marsh said in a news release. “Particularly at a time when margins on America’s family farms and ranches are increasingly thin, we are deeply troubled by reports that farmers and ranchers have not received reimbursements for the significant costs incurred as part of their participation in USDA’s program.”
In the letter, NCAE said that FLSP participants report they stopped receiving reimbursements in January or failed to receive any reimbursement. The association said recipients report being “out-of-pocket for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” adding that some are reportedly borrowing money and on the edge of bankruptcy. Despite repeated attempts, participants report they have not received clarity from USDA on the status of the FLSP funding, and when or whether they will be reimbursed for incurred or future expenses, NCAE said.
“While we know it is not USDA’s intent to further strain America’s agricultural community, which is already burdened by of several years of regulatory overreach, rising labor and input costs and unfair foreign competition, USDA’s lack of communication about the status of the FLSP funds is doing just that,” Marsh said. “We hope that Secretary Rollins and her team will investigate this thoroughly and communicate with recipients promptly so they can get back to doing the work they do best — growing food, fiber and fuel to feed, clothe and power the world.”
