U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., has reintroduced the Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act and the Agricultural Worker Justice Act, a pair of bills to support workers in the agricultural industry and uplift small, family farms across the United States.
“Small and family farms are at the heart of Vermont’s economy and culture. Without them, Vermont wouldn’t be the place we know and love,” says Welch, a member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry and Food Safety. “But rapid consolidation has jeopardized the well-being and vitality of farms across America — we can’t let that happen. We also need urgent, commonsense safeguards to protect workers in the agricultural industry who face hazardous and exploitative working conditions.”
New Safeguards for Ag Workers
The Agricultural Worker Justice Act of 2026 requires major food companies to provide decent wages and safe working conditions as a prerequisite for doing business with the federal government. The bill also establishes strict safety standards, outlaws punitive attendance policies that penalize workers for taking sick leave and implements targeted labor reforms for meat and poultry processing plants.
Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; John Fetterman, D-Pa.; and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., cosponsored the Agricultural Worker Justice Act. The Health, Environment, Agriculture and Labor (HEAL) Food Alliance and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union endorse the bill.
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture spends billions of dollars every year buying food, and that food should not come from companies that mistreat their workers. The Agricultural Worker Justice Act ensures that food and agricultural companies that exploit workers cannot do so on the dime of American taxpayers,” says Milton Jones, international president of UFCW. “Food workers are critical to the health of our nation and deserve fair wages and safe working conditions. How we spend our tax dollars shows our values as a country.”
Cracking Down on Agribusiness Consolidation
The Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act would place a moratorium on large agribusiness, food and beverage manufacturing, and grocery retail mergers, in addition to directing the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to retroactively review such mergers in the past. The bill also creates a pilot program within the Food Safety and Inspection Service to increase access to inspections and technical assistance for eligible processing facilities and instructs the Government Accountability Office to review and report on fragility in America’s food system.
The Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act is cosponsored in the Senate by Booker, Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance; The HEAL Food Alliance; the National Family Farm Coalition and the UFCW endorse the legislation.
“The Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act stops consolidation from getting even worse through a moratorium on future corporate mergers in the sector,” says Judith McGeary, executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. “It also makes crucial policy changes that farmers have long asked for — including the restoration of Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef, greater investment in local food systems and livestock infrastructure, and funding that helps socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers have a fair chance to make a living raising food for their communities.”
Related:
- Learn more about the Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers & Ranchers Act and view a section-by-section summary of the bill. Read and download the full text of the legislation here.
- Learn more about the Agricultural Worker Justice Act and view a section-by-section summary of the bill. Read and download the full text of the legislation here.
