There are 544,000 fewer farms in the United States than there were in 1980, and more than 151 million acres formerly tilled are no longer producing commercial crops.
There are myriad reasons why, but among the most prominent—especially for the nation’s disappearing small family farms—is labor costs.
“I think it’s an accurate and appropriate vehicle,” he told the House Appropriations Committee’s Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee.
Maybe in Labor Secretary Julie Su’s Washington office but not on the farm, according to Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.).
“At $18.50 an hour in Michigan, plus housing, plus transportation, our farmers cannot afford that,” he said. “I’m hearing from fifth- and sixth-generation farmers that they may only have one to two years left before they’re forced to leave the business because costs are too high.”
It’s not just employers barking about paying employees a government-imposed higher wage, according to Mr. Moolenaar.
“Farmers have told me their workers are just as concerned. The workers know their job will be lost if the farm goes out of business,” he said.
The H-2A program allows domestic employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs.
“I would agree wholeheartedly on the need to pass the Farm Work Modernization Act, and I appreciate very much your bringing that up,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), one of 10 sponsors of the measure, noting farmworkers in Washington are being paid $19 per hour.
The bill has passed the House twice since 2018. It updates the H-2A program and is “a compromise solution that provides needed stability for farms and farmworkers,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said when she reintroduced it in June 2023.
“Many rural communities are struggling. Family farms, unfortunately, are disappearing at an alarming rate,” Mr. Newhouse said.
“I think we lost over 3,000 in my state of Washington during the last reporting period because, for a lot of reasons, it’s no longer economically viable.”
Mr. Vilsack, who also served as agriculture secretary under the Obama administration, does not shy away from confrontation in hearings and has been critical of the House’s inability to pass bills and a timely budget.
“If you want to really help farmers, I would say two things: pass immigration [reform] and the modernization act. Okay? Pass it. No excuses. Get it done,” he said.
Mr. Vilsack noted that the modernization act has been endorsed by unions, farmworker advocates, farmers, and agriculture industry groups.
“So why is it so difficult? I would think it would be the simplest bill to pass of any,” he said. “Why is that? Because politics is involved. That’s why. You know it. I know it. Let’s be honest about it.”
Mr. Vilsack said the Biden administration’s USDA is working “to create new revenue streams, new ways in which agricultural waste can be converted to something more valuable, ways in which renewable energy can be generated on the farm and lower costs for everybody in the neighborhood.”
“Work with us to rebuild resilient local and regional food systems that create multiple revenue sources that don’t exist or don’t exist enough today,” he said.
First things first, Mr. Moolenaar said.
“As secretary of agriculture, how are you standing up for American farmers and telling your counterpart at [the] Department of Labor her regulations are hurting American farmers?” he asked.
Mr. Vilsack said, “There are two parties here. In addition to the farmers, [there are] farmworkers. And this is tough work, hard work. Part of the challenge is where a farmworker is asked to do more than farm work, to do a skilled job, and that’s where a lot of the adjustment is taking place.
“Isn’t it fair to make sure they’re adequately compensated for that job?”
Mr. Moolenaar said, “They’re over-compensated and putting farms at risk.”
Mr. Vilsack disagreed.
“Mr. Secretary, I would ask you to stand up for American farmers,“ Mr. Moolenaar said. ”You’re the only one in the administration who can do it. If you aren’t going to do it, no one else is.”
Mr. Vilsack said, “I stand up for them and I also stand up for farmworkers who are an extraordinarily important part of the farm economy.”
Mr. Moolenaar asked, “So, Mr. Secretary, if I go back to my constituents, the message to them is ‘The status quo is OK and just get used to it’?”
Mr. Vilsack responded: “The message is ‘The data is what it is. We have opportunities and income for you so, at the end of the day, both you and farmworkers can prosper.’”
No matter what, the USDA should set farmworker wages, according to Mr. Newhouse.
“I don’t think the Labor Department even understands agriculture and, maybe, much less cares about the importance of having a food supply,” he said, “but that’s an opinion we can talk about another day.”
