All of the state Farm Bureau presidents were in Washington, D.C. this past week for the national board meeting. American Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Scott VanderWal, who also leads South Dakota Farm Bureau, says the Administration did not offer a lot of good news about the current trade situation. “The uncertainty is just tremendous right now.” Regarding the farm bill, VanderWal said the conference committee may not act until after the August recess. VanderWal wants the certainty of the farm bill so Congress can move onto other issues, like the ag labor shortage. There is a proposal being discussed on Capitol Hill to address immigration and ag labor. VanderWal points specifically to the dairy industry. “Dairy farmers who hire year-round labor do not have access do not have access to the H2-A Program so they don’t have a solid, stable, legal way to source labor and the fixes in this bill would take care of part of that situation.” Farm Bill Focus is sponsored, in part, by the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association.
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