Agriculture Agriculture is a critical part of New York’s economy and a strong tradition I am committed to helping preserve as a member of the House Committee on Agriculture. Farmers in New York and across the country work hard every day to provide a safe, affordable and abundant food supply, but many have faced hard times in this tough economy. Ensuring a strong agricultural community is truly a national security issue. For years, New York’s family farms have struggled with an inadequate labor supply. Even with historically high unemployment, I consistently hear from farmers whose job postings in newspapers across the northeast go unanswered. The unwillingness of Americans to perform the labor-intensive work required by our region’s dairy farms, apple orchards and other specialty crop operations has forced these businesses to rely on skilled immigrant labor. Although many of these foreign workers have returned to the U.S. for generations to fill this critical need for our family farms, the broken and unreliable H-2A visa program often makes it difficult to impossible to obtain these workers legally. It is critical that we address this agricultural labor crisis – if we fail to ensure an adequate labor supply, many of New York’s family farms will not survive. Related Documents:
Press Releases -
Owens Urges GOP Leadership to Call House Back to Consider 2012 Farm Bill
|
Agriculture