New House Bill Draft Paves the Way for Year-Round H-2A Access for Mushroom and Indoor Growers
The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act aims to redefine temporary labor, providing a potential lifeline to specialty crop sectors teetering on a workforce tipping point.
As part of House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson’s draft of the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, the legislation paves the way for the mushroom and controlled environment agriculture industries to participate in the H-2A temporary guestworker program. A provision in the bill redefines temporary labor by allowing any contract under 350 days to qualify for the H-2A program, regardless of whether the underlying job is technically year-round.
The Breaking Point of Existing Workforces
Rachel Roberts, president of the American Mushroom Institute, says currently mushroom growers in the U.S. use workers who are descendants of the original Bracero program participants, who arrived in the U.S. legally from Mexico.
“I like to say we’re not just growing mushrooms; we’re growing communities because we are this year-round opportunity for stable employment,” she says.
Read full story, including comments from CEA Alliance Executive Director Tom Stenzel from The Packer…..