May/June 2021 - 33

House-passed ag worker reform bill faces Senate uncertainty
For the second
NATIONAL
POTATO
COUNCIL
Mike Wenkel
COO
time in as many
sessions of
Congress, the U.S.
House passed the
Farm Workforce
Modernization Act,
designed to reform
the broken foreign
agriculture labor
program and allow
agricultural workers to
earn legal status.
The bill, once
again supported by the National Potato
Council and sponsored by Reps. Zoe
Lofgren (D-California) and Dan Newhouse
(R-Washington), was approved on March
18 with 30 Republicans - many of whom
represent farm communities - voting " yea. "
Upon passage, Senators Michael Bennet
(D-Colorado) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said
they plan to introduce the bill's companion
in the upper chamber, which would be a
significant step forward. After the identical
bill was passed in 2019, and despite the
best efforts of the National Potato Council
(NPC) NPC and our state partners, the bill
saw no movement last session of Congress
and died upon adjournment.
Although the bill this time around has the
significant backing of many farm and food
trade groups, some Senate Republican leaders
remain pessimistic on the bill's outlook.
Most notably, Senate Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Ranking
Member John Boozman (R-Arkansas)
said that " now is not the time to take
up this bill given the ongoing crisis at
our southern border. " Instead, Senator
Boozman said that discussions on
immigration must focus on border security
before the Senate advances any other
legislation - including ag worker reform -
that pertains to the issue.
As of early April, the bill has not been
introduced, yet the agriculture community
remains committed to developing and
passing comprehensive legislation to
address the labor crisis faced by food
producers.
While the House bill is not perfect, NPC
and organizations representing growers
and ranchers are working to improve the
measure in the Senate in the hopes of
retaining those changes if, and when, a
Senate-passed bill goes to a Conference
Committee. For example, NPC and our
partners are advocating for improvements
to address the unpredictable wage rate
for employers taking part in the sole
agricultural guest worker program: the
H-2A program.
The H-2A program currently supplies
only 10% of the necessary agricultural
workforce, in part because it operates in
a cumbersome and unresponsive manner.
In particular, the Adverse Effect Wage Rate
(AEWR) that is required for the H-2A program
has skyrocketed recently by over 20% in
certain states. This unworkable structure
drives employers away from the program and
harms investment in rural America that would
otherwise occur.
To allow the labor force to expand and
contract based upon agriculture's production
needs, we are advocating for the creation
of a new guestworker program that includes
a predictable market-based wage rate,
responsive visa terms, and no " hard caps "
on participation.
Additionally, we are working to stabilize the
current improperly documented workforce
through a program to incentivize workers to
remain in American agriculture.
One of the greatest challenges facing
U.S. agriculture is the labor shortage that
impacts growers and jeopardizes their future.
The House's bipartisan passage of the
Farm Workforce Modernization Act sends
a strong message that the time to address
agricultural labor reform is now, and we will
continue to urge the Senate to do what's
right for food producers and the workers
upon which many rely.
INDUSTRY NEWS
LAMB WESTON BEGINS ADDING POTATO STARCH TO PACKAGING
Driving toward a goal of using more
sustainable materials in packaging, Lamb
Weston announced in April that two Alexia
brand products would have corn and
potato starch in packaging.
The packaging is partially made of
potato starches, a byproduct of producing
french fries, and will be identified with a
label on the front of the package indicating
it is partially made from plants. Research
by GlobalData indicates more than three in
10 U.S. consumers believe environmentally
friendly packaging material is a key driver
of a purchase.
Lamb Weston's Alexia's Organic Sweet
Potato Fries and Alexia's Organic Yukon
Select Puffs will feature a special seal,
identifying the plant-based packaging.
Lamb Weston's packaging team spent two
years collaborating to create a durable,
sustainable packaging alternative and
continue working to expand sustainable
packing efforts.
According to American Packaging
Corporation, the environmental impact
annually of using a packaging substitute
for the Alexia Organic Potato equates to:
14,700 miles driven; 252 trash bags in
landfill; 750,000 phones charged; 98 trees
over 10 years; and 14 barrels of oil.
Spudman * May/June 2021
33
May/June 2021

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