In a step toward addressing the labor shortage plaguing America's agricultural sector, a bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced the Affordable and Secure Food Act, seeking to overhaul the nation's temporary agricultural worker program.
The legislation promises a 10-year path to legal status for farm workers and aims to stabilize the workforce essential to the country's food supply.
Amid the backdrop of soaring food prices and farm closures, the Affordable and Secure Food Act of 2024—originally established in 2022—was reintroduced in late March by senators across multiple states, including Colorado's Michael Bennet and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand.
Offering a pathway to legal status after a decade of work and revamping the H-2A visa process, the act addresses the twin pressures of labor scarcity and the pursuit of a secure and affordable food supply.
"The Affordable and Secure Food Act is our common-sense proposal to address America's agricultural labor crisis, [bringing] certainty to hundreds of thousands of farm workers living in the shadows," Bennet said in a March 28 press release.
The bill, which is in the "introduced" phase of the legislative process, requires approval from the Senate and House, followed by the president's signature to be enacted into law.
The provisions include the establishment of a Certified Agricultural Worker status, granting eligible migrant workers legal employment rights in the U.S. and the ability to travel internationally with guaranteed re-entry. The status provides a framework for migrant agricultural workers to contribute consistently to the industry while also securing their own livelihoods and residency status.
It aims to reshape the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker program, marking an expansion to include year-round employment opportunities. It sets out to streamline the application process, stabilize wages and fortify worker protections.
Key aspects of the revision involve the potential for agricultural workers, together with their immediate family members, to achieve legal status, offering those workers who meet the necessary agricultural work criteria the opportunity to apply for lawful permanent residency.
For people who gain a new legal status under the act, the bill provides the opportunity to make corrections to their Social Security records, which can be important for their future employment and benefits.
According to Gillibrand, the broader goal of the bill is to address the recent decline in the farming industry—a sector that has lost more than 141,000 farms in just five years, according to the USDA's 2022 Census of Agriculture. The contraction is wide reaching, affecting states like Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Industry leaders point to the current agricultural workforce system as a core reason for the decline—a system that has been deemed broken and inadequate in meeting the labor demands of modern farming.
"Farm worker shortages drive costs up for American families and threaten our nation's food supply," Gillibrand said in a statement.
Last month, the American Farm Bureau Federation issued a statement on the farmer shortage, citing the need to fill roughly 2.4 million farm jobs.
Beyond farm closures, the existing labor deficit has exacerbated food waste, with research in California indicating that large quantities of viable produce remain unharvested, a problem largely attributed to insufficient labor.
As the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis recently noted, the scarcity of farm labor is growing increasingly dire, exacerbated by diminishing migrant worker inflows and an aging domestic workforce.
Economic analysis from Kansas State University suggests that resolving labor shortages in agriculture could invigorate the economy, potentially contributing an additional $11.7 billion.
Additionally, research conducted by the American Business Immigration Coalition in collaboration with Texas A&M International University indicates that increased migrant and H-2A worker numbers can lead to lower inflation and unemployment rates, like Gillibrand mentioned, coupled with higher average and minimum wages.
"The Affordable and Secure Food Act would create critical protections for farm workers, support our dairy farmers and specialty crop growers, lower food costs, and help make sure American farms and ranches stay in business," Gillibrand said.
Newsweek reached out to Bennet and Gillibrand by email for comment on Thursday.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aj Fabino is a Newsweek reporter based in Chicago. His focus is reporting on Economy & Finance. Aj joined Newsweek ... Read more
