ROTH, SMOAK TESTIFY ON BEHALF OF IMMIGRATION REFORM

Two FFVA members testified before the House Agricultural Committee on Oct. 4 about the need for immigration reform and improvements to the H-2A program. Rick Roth of Roth Farms Inc. in Belle Glade told the committee that the H-2A guest worker program is burdensome and expensive, characterizing it as a “last resort.” “H-2A alone is clearly not enough. We must provide a means for the current experienced agricultural workforce to earn legal status subject to conditions including a future agricultural workforce requirement,” he said. Mason Smoak of Smoak Groves Inc. in Lake Placid emphasized that producers want legal workers. “The last thing that a grower wants to keep him awake at night is wondering about the legal status of his workforce,” he said. The full committee hearing, requested by Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Palm Beach Gardens), was held to review the agriculture industry’s labor needs. Twelve witnesses testified, including labor economist Dr. James Holt, who also was a speaker at the recent Agricultural Labor Relations Forumin Orlando. Earlier in the week FFVA President Mike Stuart and Mike Carlton, director of education and research, also visited members of Congress along with several farmworker organizations to communicate the dire need for immigration reform.

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SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE PASSES ITS VERSION OF FARM BILL