Washington — Produce companies, farms, ranchers and other agricultural operations looking to move beyond an overhauled H-2A visa program to fix the worsening labor situation have banded together and created the new Agricultural Workforce Coalition.

Groups, including the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, National Milk Producers Federation, United Fresh Produce Association, U.S. Apple Association and Western Growers Association, formed AWC to make sure that any immigration-reform legislation moving this year in Congress meets the needs of agricultural employers with seasonal labor, such as produce farms, and year-round employment, such as dairy farms.

"Having a stable and viable workforce has never been more critical for our nation's fruit and vegetable industry, and we must continue to fervently educate lawmakers about agriculture's crucial labor needs," Tom Stenzel, president and chief executive officer of United Fresh, said Jan. 11, the day the new coalition was unveiled.

WGA President and CEO Tom Nassif agreed, saying, "We have an unprecedented opportunity now that Democrats and Republicans are having a serious conversation about the critical need for immigration reform — an opportunity that cannot be wasted."

Dairy farmers, like other agricultural employers hit hard by labor shortages and federal enforcement crackdowns, also see the new Congress in 2013 as an opportunity to move legislation on immigration reform.

"After seven years of hard but fruitless work on this issue, dairy farmers have a rare opportunity in 2013 to achieve a comprehensive solution to the immigration policy challenge," Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, said Jan. 11.

AWC is floating a two-part proposal based on an earned adjustment status for current farm workers and another program to ensure producers have access to a workforce when current agricultural employees move on to other jobs.

Specifically, AWC is promoting an uncapped Agricultural Worker Visa Program that allows employers and employees two options:

• "At-Will' employees would have the freedom to move from employer to employer without contractual commitments. They would have an 11-month visa with USDA-registered employers, followed by 30-day return home periods, and no caps on the number of visas.
• Contract employees, who commit to work for an employer for a fixed timeframe, would receive a 12-month visa (renewable indefinitely) and conditioned upon a commitment to return to their home country for at least 30 days over a three-year period.

For the current workforce, AWC supports an adjustment of status for experienced but unauthorized agricultural workers who currently reside in the United States. These workers would be obligated to work for a set number of days annually in agriculture over several years to obtain permanent legal status and the right to work in other industries.

When there has been high demand for foreign workers, agricultural businesses have turned to the temporary worker program known as H-2A to hire workers, but the program is not meeting employer needs.

"Multiple H-2A regulatory changes and rigid program administration have made use of an already difficult program nearly impossible," AWC said on its website (www.agworkforcecoalition.org).

A survey by the National Council of Agricultural Employers found that administrative delays under the H-2A program result in workers arriving on average 22 days after the date of need, causing an economic loss of nearly $320 million for farms that hire H-2A workers.

Many groups have endorsed past legislative overhauls, such as AgJOBS, that attempted to reform the H-2A program, but AWC represents a new direction.

"Agriculture needs a program that functions as efficiently as the current free market movement of migrant farm workers while providing the security of a contractual relationship in areas where there is little migration," AWC said on its website. "Having lost confidence in the H-2A structure as a framework for future success, AWC members are seeking the new approach outlined above to ensure a legal, reliable, long-term workforce for all sectors of the industry."

AWC-backers will push the new agenda this year along side its new agricultural partners.

"The coalition will work to ensure that agricultural labor needs are addressed in any immigration reform package considered by the 113th Congress," United Fresh said in a message to members. "While the timing of such action is not yet clear, it is expected that Congress and the president will place a renewed emphasis in the coming weeks on immigration reform legislation."