Washington, D.C. (June 27, 2018)–“We are disappointed that immigration legislation under consideration by the House of Representatives later today will not include provisions to address the labor crisis faced by America’s farmers and ranchers. Over the past few weeks, several members of Congress have worked tirelessly to include provisions in the package that would create a workable guest worker program and address agriculture’s need for an authorized workforce. We specifically applaud Reps. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), and Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) for making significant progress to include long-overdue improvements to our untenable situation. Despite this progress, dynamics beyond their control or ours prevented inclusion of these provisions in the Leadership’s compromise bill. We continue to believe a proposal that addresses agriculture’s labor needs can garner majority support from House members if brought to a floor vote.”
About NCFC
Since 1929, NCFC has been the voice of America’s farmer cooperatives. Our members are regional and national farmer cooperatives, which are in turn composed of nearly 3,000 local farmer cooperatives across the country. NCFC members also include 26 state and regional councils of cooperatives. Farmer cooperatives allow individual farmers the ability to own and lead organizations that are essential for continued competitiveness in both the domestic and international markets.
America’s farmer-owned cooperatives provide a comprehensive array of services for their members. These diverse organizations handle, process and market virtually every type of agricultural commodity. They also provide farmers with access to infrastructure necessary to manufacture, distribute and sell a variety of farm inputs. Additionally, they provide credit and related financial services, including export financing.
