Tag Archives: guest worker programs

Georgia Producers Tackle Labor Uncertainty at Annual Ag Forum

Posted on by

Tifton, GA |

For Georgia farmers, securing a reliable workforce is vital to a successful harvest—especially when it comes to fresh produce and specialty crops. That’s why many of them gathered in Tifton for the annual Agricultural Labor Relations Forum, an event aimed at keeping producers up-to-date on the latest changes to the country’s guest worker programs.

Beth Oleson, Director of Education for the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, says the forum continues to build momentum and foster productive dialogue between growers and regulatory agencies.

“I feel like we actually have gained some momentum. We’ve gained some, some real positive strides with our regulatory agencies. They’re here, they come every year, and they’re actually excited to be here. They’re listening to us. Changes are happening because our growers, our packers, our shippers, our processors are present and they’re having conversations. That’s what this forum is all about,” said Oleson.

According to Will Bentley, President of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, the H-2A guest worker program is essential to Georgia agriculture—especially since the domestic labor force is no longer a viable option for many growers.

“Georgia farmers are, you know, a top user of H-2A labor, typically between number one and number two, state of using the program in the country. So, I mean, it’s obviously important to our industry, especially on the fresh produce side and specialty crops and dairy and green industry and other things like that. So, it’s extremely important to us.”

“Unfortunately, the domestic labor force has shrunk to the point where it’s not really a reliable source of labor for picking crops or working in the fields. It’s become harder, and finding that labor has been more of a challenge. So really, having a dependable labor force through the H-2A program is really what makes Georgia agriculture successful in our ability to be diverse in the crops that we grow here in the state that we just simply couldn’t do if we weren’t able to have a dependable labor force.”

However, that reliance on guest labor has brought added uncertainty—especially as changes to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) continue to strain farm budgets.

“Ten, twenty, thirty percent increases on your labor rate—especially when those decisions aren’t rolled out until kind of late winter when farmers are already making planting decisions, already making hiring decisions—and then they get an increase in their adverse wage rate that they’re required to pay. That’s been the biggest challenge is just offsetting that when farmers can’t just simply raise their prices,” Bentley explained. “We’re price takers. So, the commodity is kind of set on the market for what that’s going to go for a farmer. But then they get a huge increase on the labor side—not to mention the increases on inputs, whether it’s equipment or fertilizer or chemical. So, it’s just really been a challenge on the cost side for our farmers. And that’s really been the biggest obstacle for them being successful.”

Despite the challenges, organizers and attendees of the forum remain hopeful that continued education, conversation, and collaboration can help move the industry forward—ensuring that growers have the tools and labor they need to keep Georgia agriculture thriving.

By: John Holcomb

Uncertainty for Producers Relying on Guest Workers

Posted on by

Tifton, GA |

Down in Tifton recently, producers gathered for the annual Agricultural Relations Forum – an event that’s designed to educate and inform growers on the ever so changing guest worker programs producers utilize on their operations. The importance of the event can’t be overstated as it comes at a time when producers have been burdened with frequent, drastic changes to the program so many of them rely on.

“The biggest factor that drives the need for this event is the ever changing regulatory environment that we find ourselves in. For a grower that is focused on growing a healthy crop, keeping up with six hundred pages of regulations and new rules is a challenge. So, if we can synopsis that into two days and again, let them have the information so that they are compliant, so that they know they’re operating their farm the way that the rules stipulate, but also the way they want to be able to operate and treat their employees who come back year after year and become part of their families,” says Chris Butts, Executive Vice President of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Grower’s Association.

In the last few years, growers that utilize the program have had to adapt to sudden changes; changes that have caused a lot of uncertainty – the biggest being the wage rate, which has increased more than twenty percent in just two years – a huge hurdle for producers, especially when that rate could change at any time.

“One of the biggest factors influencing the effectiveness of the program is what we call the adverse effect wage rate. And that becomes, in effect, a de facto minimum wage rate for all AG work in your area. That rate that can be increased, at any time during the year. The last few years, we’ve had a twenty-one percent increase in ’23 and ’24. That comes after the fact that our growers may have already had contracts to provide produce to their suppliers. So, that uncertainty comes in with ‘I can’t identify what my labor costs are going to be next year because I don’t know what the pay rate is going to be'”, says Butts.

More uncertainty comes for producers as a lawsuit has been brought forth that is challenging the overreach and unfairness in the many burdensome and unfair rules and regulations the Department of Labor has issued.

“The latest rules we feel were an overreach by the Department of Labor outstripping the authority granted to them by Congress. And in fact, they’re conveying rights to foreign ag workers in the country that even U.S. citizen workers don’t receive. The pay rate is now twice in Georgia what the minimum wage is. Those pay rates become disassociated from really the economic realities in our rural communities, but because of the rules, that becomes the de facto wage rate. And we are now paying a wage rate that’s oftentimes twice what other industries in that area are paying. That leaves us uncompetitive with our foreign competitors and susceptible to seeing more of our food supply come from other countries,” says Butts.

Ultimately, Butts says that the rules and regulations have been changing in a way that has left growers at a very unfair advantage, especially when you add in all of the many other challenges that they’re dealing with.

“We find ourselves at the intersection of trade policy and labor policy that is leaving our growers uncompetitive, or at a competitive disadvantage to foreign competitors. For food security, we’ve got to make sure that American growers have a future and growing fruits and vegetables in the U.S the sustainable,” says Butts.

By: John Holcomb