May 2019 - 35

U.S. APPLE
Leaders voice concerns, demand action in Washington
DIANE KURRLE
703-442-8850
USApple
to Mexico have quadrupled and those to
Canada have doubled. If those apples aren't
exported, they stay in the domestic market
and everyone is impacted.
The Trump administration renegotiated
On March 13, nearly 100 apple leaders
from coast to coast gathered in Washington,
D.C., for USApple's annual Capitol Hill Day.
With a dozen states participating, all facets
of the industry were represented.
Attendees focused on priority issues
including maintaining duty-free
access to the North American market,
implementing the new farm bill and
the overwhelming need to reform our
antiquated agriculture labor system.
These core issues have risen to the top
of the priority list for growers from the
East Coast to the West and everywhere
in between.
Large operations requiring 1,000 or
more harvest workers experience the
same anxieties about securing an adequate
workforce as small operations that may only
need to hire 10 workers to get the crop in.
The H-2A agricultural guest worker
program has more than doubled in the
past five years but does not have the
infrastructure to support it. The program
is in desperate need to be modernized
and reformed. At the time it was created
there was a mindset that foreign workers
would displace native born American
harvest workers, but that time has long
passed. Today, it is a well-known fact that
on average each harvest worker creates
and supports three year-round, full-time
downstream jobs.
Maintaining the gains achieved through
the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) impacts those who export but
also those who grow solely for the domestic
market. Since NAFTA's enactment, exports
NAFTA, modernizing it and making
important improvements. The new
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
(USMCA) will be considered by Congress
later this year and the apple industry is all in.
While pushing hard for the USMCA,
USApple and our volunteer leaders are also
advocating for an end to section 232 tariffs
placed on steel and aluminum originating
from Mexico and Canada. The result has
been retaliatory tariffs from Mexico at the
pre-NAFTA level and Canada could do the
same at any time. For the USMCA to succeed
this trade skirmish must be resolved.
The day after Capitol Hill Day, USApple
board members met with staff at the
White House, where they delivered the
same messages on labor and trade. Board
members who export and those that do
not emphasized the importance of dutyfree
access to Mexico and Canada and the
negative economic impact that the current
trade disputes are having on the industry.
It is important that members of Congress
and the administration hear directly from
voters on these important polices. USApple
staff brings these messages to the Hill and
the Trump administration on a nearly daily
basis but the direct participation of growers
is what enables us to be so effective.
With that in mind, USApple extends a
big thank you to the growers and industry
leaders who took time out of their busy
schedules to travel to D.C. For those unable
to attend this time, there will be additional
opportunities as legislation moves through
Congress and grassroots efforts are needed
to weigh in with key offices. To find out
how you can get involved, please email me
at dkurrle@usapple.org. FGN
Some Alternative uses of our
stakes that also have been
popular over the years:
1) Apples
2) Brambles, i.e. Blackberries
3) Tomatoes
4) Nursery and Ornamentals
5) Fencing
U.S. Apple Association's Young Apple Leaders came to the Capitol from across the
nation to advocate for critical issues affecting the apple industry. Photo: U.S. Apple
Association
Millions of Trees
60
ROETERS FARM EQUIPMENT, INC.
565 - 120th Street, Grant, Michigan 49327
Phone (231) 834-7888 * Fax (231) 834-8655
Email: roeters.eq@att.net
www.roetersfarmequipment.com
FGN | MAY 2019 | 35
(570) 546-5571
(570) 279-0938
http://www.roetersfarmequipment.com
May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2019
