Food Prices Will Rise if Labor Shortage Isn't Addressed

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) urged Congress on Sept. 9 to include in a budget reconciliation bill language to expand the existing H-2A visa to year-round agricultural workers.

With a scheduled vote in the U.S. House set for Sept. 13,  NPPC is calling on congressional lawmakers to open the current H-2A temporary and seasonal worker visa program to year-round labor, without a limit on the annual number of visas, NPPC said in a release. They also want to see legal status for agricultural workers already in the U.S.

“The U.S. pork industry is highly dependent on foreign-born workers, but current visa programs don’t provide access to enough workers to meet our labor needs on farms and in packing plants,” Jen Sorenson, NPPC president, said in a release. “We need a dedicated, year-round workforce."

The severe labor shortage in the pork industry started before the pandemic, but has been amplified since. The tight labor market prompted the pork sector to rely on foreign-born workers, NPPC said.

“If the labor shortage is not addressed, it could lead to farms and plants shutting down, causing serious financial harm to the communities in which they operate,” Sorenson said in a release. “Pork production would become constrained, leading to higher food prices for consumers and the United States becoming an unreliable trading partner.”

Legislation approved earlier this year by the House would expand the H-2A program to year-round workers but cap the number of visas that can be issued each year.

Juan Marroquin of LB Pork in Fairmont, Minn., said, "It's important for the sake of our animals and farmers that we can get a reliable foreign workforce." Listen to more of his story below.

For more information on the labor issue, click here. 

More from Farm Journal's PORK:

Five Facts About the Ag Labor Shortage

Pork Industry Pleas for More Access to Foreign-Born Workers

Ag Leaders Urge Labor Reform in Historic Hearing of Judiciary Committee