The U.S. dairy industry supports more than 3.2 million American jobs that generate $49 billion in direct wages. Unfortunately, hiring and retaining a workforce to fill those jobs and run dairy farms and processing plants year-round is an ongoing challenge.   

At a time when we are seeing record demand for dairy products, both domestically and around the globe, dairy processing plants are operating at 10 to 20% below capacity because they cannot find enough workers. With perishable milk and dairy products, labor shortages aren’t just an inconvenience; they are a threat to business viability and to our nation’s food and national security.

Existing agricultural guest-worker programs don’t work for dairy because they are only designed to provide assistance for commodities with seasonal needs, such as harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables. Congress could fix this problem by passing legislation that would change the guest-worker program to allow non-seasonal, skilled immigrant workers to participate. The legislation must also cover dairy manufacturing jobs and allow longer-term visas in recognition of the significant time and money our industry invests to train employees.   

Reforming current guest-worker programs would not only benefit the dairy industry, but also consumers. That’s because access to a more stable workforce would decrease business expenses, which will help lower food prices at the grocery store. In a recent Morning Consult national tracking poll commissioned by IDFA, nearly four-in-five U.S. voters (82%) urged Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform to address higher food prices. Nine-in-ten Democratic voters (88%), four-in-five Republican voters (79%) and four-in-five independent voters (80%) say that addressing food costs through bipartisan immigration reform is important to them.  

Over the past five years, the U.S. House of Representatives has twice passed legislation to address farm and agricultural labor shortages. The bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act would allow agricultural workers in the U.S. to earn legal status through continued agricultural employment and contributions to the U.S. agricultural economy. It would also provide more flexibility for employers with year-round labor needs, including dairy farmers, while ensuring critical protections for workers. The bill would also establish a mandatory, nationwide E-Verify system with a structured phase-in that would allow companies to confirm employees are eligible to work. Finally, the bill would guarantee due process for authorized workers who are incorrectly rejected by the system. Unfortunately, the Senate has so far failed to act on this legislation that has prevented it from being signed into law by the President.

IDFA and other food and agriculture trade associations are currently working with our congressional champions to reintroduce a new version of the bill that will also ensure that dairy and other food manufacturing jobs are eligible to participate in the guest-worker program.  Consistent with this goal, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member David Scott (D-Ga.) recently announced the formation of a bipartisan Agricultural Labor Working Group made up of Agriculture Committee members that will focus on workforce issues facing U.S. agricultural producers.  

Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member Scott said that they have heard “…loud and clear from producers across the nation that one of the biggest challenges confronting the agriculture industry is lack of reliable labor.” The Working Group will examine the shortcomings of the current guest-worker program and how it impacts food security and file a report with recommendations to address the flaws within the program.

For too long, political grandstanding has prevented a guest-worker reform bill from being passed by Congress. As a born optimist, I believe that it’s never too late to do the right thing, so I remain hopeful that Washington policymakers from both parties will come together to help our industry and consumers by enacting an improved version of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act that includes dairy processing jobs.