WISCONSIN — A newly formed farmer-led advocacy campaign is highlighting what it calls “mounting agricultural labor shortages” and how that impacts family farms in the U.S. and what consumers pay for food.
What You Need To Know
- Farmer-led coalition highlights the impact of immigration policies it says undercut American agricultural competitiveness
- Wisconsin dairy farmer, John Rosenow is part of the “Grow It Here” coalition
- He says around 90% of the milk harvested from cows every day in the Badger State is done by immigrants
- According to Rosenow, dairy farms would not exist without that labor force
“Grow It Here“ is driving home the importance of agriculture labor, which includes foreign-born workers.
The coalition, which includes western Wisconsin dairy farmer John Rosenow, is focused on improving food security and food affordability. Also tackling the U.S. farm crisis and reversing what it calls the historic ag trade deficit.
Rosenow said current federal guidelines don’t include dairy producers; he said they are specifically excluded from H-2A, which is the Temporary Agriculture Employment of Foreign Workers.
“We rely on immigrants, and right now in Wisconsin about 90% of the milk that’s harvested every day from the cows is harvested by immigrants,” Rosenow said. “Without these immigrants, we would struggle. Well, we wouldn’t exist, basically.”
Watch the full interview above.
