Farmers reported labor shortages in more than 20 states, threatening harvests, due to delays in federal approval for seasonal workers from foreign countries, said the largest U.S. farm group. The Labor Department approved entry of nearly 140,000 workers – a record – under the H-2A visas last year. Farmers seek an additional 13 percent of workers this year, said the American Farm Bureau Federation. During a teleconference, growers reported delays of up to five weeks in processing of their applications.
“Crops are not going to wait for labor to get there,” said AFBF president Zippy Duvall. “Harvest season is coming upon us fast. We could have a crisis on our hands in the near future.”
“We’re basically at a standstill now,” said Jen Costanza, of Sodus, Mich., with no indication when immigration officials, who handle H-2A applications after they clear the Labor Department, would complete work on a request for workers. Costanza and her husband submitted paperwork on Feb. 25 with a “date of need” of April 11.
“We’re going to have to let something go,” said Georgia grower Bill Brim, who has relied on the H-2A program since 1997. “We don’t have the labor to pick it.” Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and kale are ripe, and blueberries, squash and cucumbers are “coming in” soon. A California labor contractor, Carlos Castaneda, said he requested visas for work beginning in mid-March, five weeks ago, but has not gotten clearance yet.
The government handles H-2A applications by mail, which slows the pace of action, said the growers, who said email would be faster. Duvall said demand for other work visas is up so federal agencies have a higher workload than in the past.
Lawmakers have shown little interest in immigration reform this year, said Duvall. “We’re ready to have that conversation when Congress is,” he said. The H-2A system “is not a perfect system. Actually, it’s broken.” If the issue is ceded to the administration that takes office in January, “that means we have to wait three years” before new laws could be enacted and put into effect, said Castaneda. “Growers don’t have the stomach for that.”
The H-2A workers are a small but important fraction of the agricultural workforce of around 2 million. Many of them are undocumented workers. Duvall said a reform law would allow “an adjustment of status” for them.