By Mr. Robert Nathan Gregory
The American Relief Act of 2025 extended the 2018 Farm Bill’s benefits until September, providing agricultural producers $31 billion in economic aid. However, farm owners and operators are advocating for improvements as U.S. legislators draft the next Farm Bill.
In late February, producers representing a range of commodities testified before the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee to share their concerns. The series, “Perspectives From the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy,” lent that forum to growers in all corners of the country.
Sweet potato grower Anna Rhinewalt of Sandy Ridge Farms in Senatobia, Mississippi, was among those who testified on Feb. 26.
A member of the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council and a recipient of the 2024 Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation Farm Woman of the Year award, Rhinewalt’s testimony contained familiar refrains for the industry in recent years: production costs, including record high costs for fertilizer, seed and equipment.
But the line-item expenses that have increased the most, she said, are for H-2A labor. The H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers program allows workers from other countries to fill seasonal agricultural jobs in the absence of available U.S. candidates.
She said some current regulations hit growers of specialty crops even harder, especially during sweet potato harvest season from September to November.
“Throughout various seasons, it takes between 12 and 40 workers to plant, harvest and pack our crop,” Rhinewalt stated. “For our acreage, harvest requires 40 workers. Planting and harvest are peak seasons where work weeks average 56 hours, but actually range from 30 to 75 or more, depending on crop readiness and weather events.”
Rhinewalt’s top priorities included revisiting the Adverse Effect Wage Rate, or AEWR, system and addressing H-2A seasonality restrictions, advocating for a year-round solution. The AEWR system dictates the minimum hourly wage for H-2A workers.
“Since 2019, the AEWR in our state has risen almost 31%, resulting in an additional $12 million impact to Mississippi sweet potato growers annually,” Rhinewalt said. “We don’t understand why the rate continues to rise so dramatically using the rationale that it is to protect a domestic workforce that no longer exists Some farms are closing for two months, missing critical sales until their H-2A workers return.”
The AEWR is set based on the field and livestock workers’ combined average annual hourly wage reported in the USDA Farm Labor Survey for each Farm Labor region. Mississippi is part of the Delta Farm Labor Region, which also includes Arkansas and Louisiana.
The current AEWR rate for field and livestock worker occupations in Mississippi is $14.83, up 25% from $11.88 in 2021.
Elizabeth Canales, an agricultural economist for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said proposed solutions exist that would be fair for both employer and employee.
She said future legislation could consider eliminating AEWR requirements based on specific job titles, which currently sets the AEWR for farm tasks not covered by the Farm Labor Survey according to the hourly wage reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“In 2024, the average wage for certified H-2A workers driving trucks was $25.04 per hour, compared to $14.53 for manual laborers and packers,” Canales said. “The concern is that by requiring farmers to pay wage levels based on industries outside of agriculture for non-range farm tasks may inflate farm wages further and make the H-2A program even more costly for farmers.”
Another possible modification Canales mentioned was extending the duration of time that H-2A workers can stay in the U.S.
“Since the program is limited to seasonal employment, extending the stay could fulfill year-round employment needs and make it easier for employers to retain good workers,” she said. “Allowing greater flexibility and portability so workers can more easily transition to other farm jobs after a contract ends could help reduce the costs for farmers.”
Another area of debate, Canales said, is the requirement that farm employers pay for domestic and international transportation and provide free housing.
“Finding a middle ground, such as allowing farm employers to charge a modest rent for housing, as is the case in other countries with similar programs, could make the program more affordable,” she said.
In addition, Canales said providing more training and resources to help farm owners and managers navigate the H-2A program application could also help.
Source : msstate.edu