IARN — The Lame Duck Congress is usually a time when many bills get passed. Bills that would normally bring up controversy for politicians, don’t seem as risky when you go home in a couple of days. One of the bills that are waiting for approval in the Senate is the Workforce Modernization Act. This would allow a much more robust and modernized guest worker program to allow more workers into the country to do the jobs many businesses have trouble filling.
Agriculture has definitely been on the frontlines of this debate. Many seasonal workers come in to help with crops that need tending to. However, what happens when you have an operation that has no season, like livestock production? Animals do not have an off-season, yet ranches, feedlots, and hog operations cannot get year-round help, because of the limitations under the current laws.
Janille Baker is part of the 4th generation Baker Ranch in Utah and Nevada. She says for most ranchers in the southwest, there is no greater topic than labor.
For more on this story visit the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Photo by Dustin Hoffmann
