Naerebout: Dairy Needs A Visa To Address Labor Struggles

Lost in the shuffle of tariffs, trade wars and hirings and firings, is the need for a fix for the Ag labor situation.  Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, said their sector is supportive of making needed improvements to the H-2A program, but said their ultimate goal is a visa.

“And the typical pathway for the last decade has been to, work towards inclusion of year-round agriculture into the H-2A system, that seems to be still the conversation going forward is how do we get access to that system.  It’s an existing visa. It makes sense to, you know, make provisions within it for year-round agriculture, not just have it be a seasonal and temporary program.”

Naerebout added, realistically, changes need to take place at the U.S./Mexico border before any changes to the H-2A, or any other via programs, will take place.  He said when the conversation of farm labor comes up, there are many misconceptions that circulate, and chief among them is the idea that these farm jobs are positions that the average American wants to fill.

“It doesn't matter whether we're talking row crop agriculture or animal agriculture. For decades now, these are not jobs that have been filled by Americans or a domestic workforce. Are jobs that immigrants typically fill? And largely that's due to the fact that we have an economy that creates more jobs than we have for a domestic workforce. And so our domestic workforce can pick and choose which jobs they want to fill. And agriculture is manual labor.”

He added that’s one of the reasons many kids leave the farm, regardless of commodity, and don’t return.

Naerebout said fixing the Ag labor situation is not a “terribly difficult fix, on its face”.

“We're not asking for a whole lot," he said.  "We’re asking for access to a visa program.  We’re asking that existing workers that are here without authorization do a background check on, have them pay a penalty, and then give them legal status. If they can pay the penalty and pass a background check and they don't have a criminal record. Even legal status let them continue to fill the jobs that they're filling and support our economy."

Naerebout added if those two things become a reality, then Ag employers are happy to use the E-Verify system going forward.

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