The House of Representatives passed H.R. 5038, the Farm Wokforce Modernization Act, with bipartisan support. Labor challenges are the single-biggest constraint on the stability, success, and growth potential of nursery and greenhouse growers across the U.S. This bill addresses the challenge with solutions that stabilize the current agricultural and horticultural workforce, improve the legal channels for future seasonal and permanent workers in the farming sector, and advance integrity in the hiring process.
As a member of the agriculture industry’s negotiating team, AmericanHort supports this legislation as a necessary step forward toward addressing these challenges. As a response AmericanHort released the following statement.
“For years, our growers have struggled with a broken immigration and agricultural visa system that harms their ability to succeed and sustain their farms and businesses in today’s marketplace. In view of the huge contributions the horticulture industry makes to local and national economies, action here couldn’t be more welcome,” said Senior Vice President Craig Regelbrugge. “This is the first time in over 30 years that the House has acted affirmatively to address the agricultural labor issue. We extend our deepest appreciation to the House lawmakers who saw through the politics and remained committed to addressing this problem in earnest. We thank the bill negotiators with whom we worked to get to this day, and to all who voted to pass this bill. We encourage the Senate to quickly take up this issue and work on a bipartisan basis to advance agricultural labor reform legislation in that chamber. Growers and producers across the nation want to keep farming labor-intensive crops here in America, and labor solutions are urgently needed.”
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AmericanHort
www.americanhort.org