AFBF Asking For Help On H-2A Front

The American Farm Bureau Federation says the move by the U.S. government to suspend visa processing in Mexico to combat the spread of coronavirus could cause a serious farm labor shortage at a key time for planting and harvesting. And the AFBF is asking for a tamer solution.

AFBF President Zippy Duvall says the move while understandable, “threatens our ability to put food on Americans’ tables.”

“We’re going to be working with, trying to make sure the administration understands, working with USDA, the State Department, certainly, folks in the White House we can talk to, to let them know what’s going on," said Farm Bureau Executive Director Dale Moore.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is aware of the issue and has pledged to work with the State Department to ensure needed H-2A farm workers, 258,000 admitted last year, are safely admitted now.

Moore says no one knows yet, the full impact on Ag of bars, restaurants and other facilities closing.

But he says he has no doubt, when Ag makes a clear case for added help, Congress and the Administration will come through, as they have before.

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