Lawmakers and Agriculture industry groups met on Capitol Hill this week to talk about the serious labor shortage facing America’s farmers. A pair of immigration reform bills have been circulating but nothing has passed so far and a comprehensive fix has yet to appear. Minnesota Milk Producers Association Executive Director Lucas Sjostrom says there needs to be a way to get undocumented workers here legally.
He says one of the major holdups to fixing the immigration problem is the current quota system that’s in place.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts said he still thinks a bipartisan solution to the problem is possible. Western Iowa Dairy Alliance Executive Director Scott Schroeder says the lack of bipartisan cooperation has been what’s held up passage of any ag labor measure.
President Trump last month said he would be pushing for legislation to make the process of hiring more guest workers easier for farmers to accomplish.
